Healed by the Cold
by FloatingLeaf
Summary: Peace in the snow is all Finland knows... until he's rudely captured by a crazed man named Denmark and brought into a fierce battle for his life—and maybe for some others' lives as well.
1. Chapter One

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter One

* * *

The snow.

It fluttered around a lone figure standing in the woods, dancing an elegant path through the air. Joy emanated from the young man as small, white flakes clung to his eyelashes and hair. His clothing was completely white; his shirt and pants were covered by a flapping cloak. A white bag also hung on his back. He was the same color as the snow. Only his head could be discerned from the surroundings.

He began to walk. His blond hair reflected the little amount of light that pushed through the clouds. His eyes were lively and intelligent. They were also the color of glinting amethysts. No one else he knew had eyes as strange as his; then again, he did not know many people.

Something else was strange about him. He walked through the snow, yet made no sound. The crystals piled beneath his feet suffered no damage from him as he glided along their surface.

Of course, he was linked to the snow. The snow was joyous, shy, and pretty; it was also cold, harsh, and furious. He was the same; he would never do the snow any harm.

But other people did.

The distant _crunch_ of a heavy boot stomping the snow was too far away to hear. But Finland, as was his name, did not need to hear it. He _felt _it quake through the ice until it reached him, sending an unpleasant shiver through his spine.

He felt the snow-killer come closer, but the other being was still too far away to perceive Finland by any sense—except for magic, at least.

Finland continued to walk, more quickly now. Magic, he mused. Yes, that was what it was. This connection to nature that he had; it was magic. Ice and snow were his brethren. He could ask them for help, and while they were offered the choice to say no, they usually followed him, even at the risk of their own destruction. Why? Because they understood him. They were connected. They would help each other until the end of time.

Suddenly, his eyes grew wide as he felt the snow wither some distance away; the crystals screamed as something—flames—licked through them hungrily, melting them into a cascading gush of water and sending puffs of steam into the air. Finland shut his eyes tightly. Water. It was one of his sub-elements. Ice and water and vapor, all interconnected within an intricate system of nature. But Finland was most tightly bound to ice; water came second, and he barely understood steam.

But what he was most concerned about right now was the melting snow. The region he traveled through was always freezing, never warm. It was perfectly suited to him, with snow and ice and water abundant everywhere he looked. Yet, someone felt the need to destroy it.

The snow stopped screaming. Finland opened his eyes in relief, but then gasped sharply as more pain echoed through the ice. A fury of indignation coursed through his body, searing him with the heat of cold, raging like an furious blizzard. He abruptly turned and sought out the source of the snow's pain.

It did not take long for him to find it.

A tall man, with dirty blond hair and black clothes, wielding a huge battleaxe, was the wrongdoer. He had fire magic, Finland realized, as the strange man clenched his fist around his weapon and fire raced along its edges. The orange flames reflected in Finland's icy eyes.

Suddenly, the man halted his path of destruction. He stiffened, standing straighter, and loosened his grip on his weapon. Finland silently lifted the hood of his cloak over his head, hiding his blond hair. Only his eyes could be seen now.

Without warning, the other man whipped around and pointed straight at Finland. A brilliant, orange ball of flame burst from his fingertips and flew at Finland, who quickly dodged out of the way. The man followed him easily, sending flame after flame chasing Finland. By the time the fireballs had ceased, Finland was panting for breath.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself! You are trespassing and I will not hesitate to capture you as prisoner!"

The tone was commanding; the man was used to being in charge. Finland glared at him and put a hand up, palm facing towards the man. Abruptly, the snow under the man's feet turned to water and he fell with a strangled yelp. As he fell, the water froze in a sweeping clockwise flow, trapping his lower body and arms under the snow. The man cursed. Finland smiled smugly but then jumped backwards as the other man launched himself out of the trap by propelling himself with fire ejected from his two feet.

Finland's eyes narrowed and he slowly crept backwards—and then he tripped on a thick tree root. He yelped as he plunged backwards, and the other man took the opportunity to leap over and smash the handle of his battleaxe on Finland's head.

The last thing Finland saw before being knocked unconscious was the gray sky.

* * *

"Ugh..."

Finland opened his eyes. An incessant noise had woken him from what seemed to be a deep sleep, and he realized that it was a fire crackling merrily nearby. At the sight of the flames, his recent memories flew back to him, and he cringed.

_How embarrassing_, he thought. _To lose in such a fashion..._

He pushed his damp hair out of his eyes and sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was lying in a comfortable bed in a small room. A wooden table and a few chairs, all handmade by the looks of it, were placed precariously near the fireplace.

Suddenly, he heard a tense conversation.

"What, Nor-nor? So what if I brought him back unconscious?"

"We're finding _allies_, idiot, not making enemies. And don't you dare call me Nor-nor ever again."

"Please, Nor-nor?"

"I will not hesitate to attack you, Denmark."

"But we're allies! And I _asked_ the kid to come with me, but he refused!"

"You said that you were taking him captive as a prisoner. Not exactly the most encouraging word choice."

"Hey, I brought him back, and he'll help us out, right?"

"We sent you to get some water for Sweden, not to bring back a supposed ally."

"Hey, lose... a leaf... find... a cantaloupe?"

"I have nothing to say to that. And he's awake."

The door was slammed open as the man Finland had fought—Denmark, he figured from the conversation—blasted through it.

"Hey! I'm sorry to have hurt you, but will you join us? You will? Thanks! See ya around!"

And without further ado, Denmark disappeared, leaving behind another man with platinum blond hair and a disapproving expression.

"Uh..."

"Don't mind him," sighed the other man. "I am terribly sorry that he knocked you out. My name's Norway. You?"

Finland remained silent.

"I guess I can't really blame you for not saying anything," Norway said, pulling a kettle filled with hot water out of the fireplace. He poured two cups of simmering water before adding a few things to it. "Here, have some of this. It'll help ease the pain."

Finland was about to ask what the other man was talking about when a dull throbbing echoed throughout the chasms of his skull, reverberating from the point where Denmark had smashed him earlier. He cursed the man mentally as he accepted the cup.

"You're not drinking?" asked Norway, noticing that Finland hadn't moved after he had taken the cup. "It's not poisoned. I swear."

Warily, Finland took a sip of the liquid. He blinked as a sensation of coolness rushed down his throat instead of the heat he had expected from the simmering water. He tasted a hint of orange peel and a few other other things he could not identify. Sure enough, his head began to feel better after he had taken a larger gulp.

"See?" said Norway, drinking some of his own. "I swear, I need this just for the headache I get from _talking_ with the idiot every day."

Finland laughed. Norway smiled wryly.

Then, someone appeared in the doorway again.

"Norway? Denmark told me that he woke up..."

"Ah, little brother," Norway said. He gestured to another chair.

"Shut up, Norway," the other person said, collapsing roughly into the seat.

"This is Iceland, my temperamental little brother," said Norway. "He doesn't like to call me big brother for some reason."

"We're all adults!" exploded Iceland. "I'm not some little kid who needs help with everything anymore!"

"Big brother."

"No."

"Big brother."

"Not saying it."

"Big brother."

"I don't know you."

The cacophony of noise increased in volume as the siblings bickered back and forth—and Denmark bounced back into the room.

"Hey, how's everyone doing—OW!"

A green fist materialized out of thin air and punched straight into Denmark's jaw, sending him crashing into the fireplace. Finland almost got out of the bed to help him before he remembered that, since Denmark seemed to be fire-oriented, the heat would not hurt him. The fist, on the other hand, left a nasty, purple bruise on the side of his cheek.

"What was that for?" yelled Denmark, climbing out of the fireplace (getting ash all over in doing so) and glaring at Norway.

"That was for knocking out our guest here," Norway said.

"Tch. Doesn't mean you get to break my jaw," muttered Denmark, rubbing his bruised cheek and sulking over to join the group. "So, what's your name?"

Finland blinked and was still silent. Denmark sighed.

"We're not going to kill you—"

"Finland."

Everyone looked at him. Finland ducked his head, embarrassed.

"Hm. Finland, huh?" said Norway. His blue eyes were deep like the ocean and dark, hiding any resemblance of emotion. "Interesting."

"What can you do?" asked Iceland, talking to Finland for the first time since he had entered the room. "Denmark said something about snow."

"Ice and snow," Finland replied. "Mainly healing and defensive magic. My offense is awful, but my support is decent."

They all sharply turned to look at him again. Finland pulled back slightly, feeling rather self-conscious as they all probed him.

"Did you say that you're a healer?" asked Iceland.

"Yeah?"

There was a pause.

"GREAT!" yelled Denmark, grabbing Finland's arm. "You're coming with me, now!"

And Finland was rudely yanked out of the bed—or, was about to be until Norway slapped Denmark out of the way and pushed Finland back.

"Uh, what just happened?" asked Finland.

Norway sighed. "There are four of us here. Me, Iceland, Denmark, and then another man named Sweden. He's not a magic-user, but he's a great fighter. He's injured pretty badly, and we need a magical healer."

Before Finland could comprehend what he was saying, he had already blurted out, "I'll help."

Norway turned to him, surprised. Iceland was as well. Denmark, on the other hand, laughed gleefully.

"See! I told you he'd help!" crowed Denmark, pointing at Norway and dancing around him, all the while laughing like a crazed banshee. "You were wrong, you were wrong, you were wrong!" he sang. He was suddenly pummeled into the fireplace again, and Norway stood up composedly.

"Are you feeling alright?" asked Iceland. His expressions were more clearly defined on his face, unlike his brother's. "You might not have enough strength after the idiot over there bashed your head."

"I'm fine," Finland said, struggling out of the bed and holding the back of his head. "Well, I'll cope, at least."

Finland saw Norway's mouth twitch upward. "Come with us, then."

Norway led them out; Finland followed him while Iceland and Denmark trailed behind him.

"How did he get injured?" asked Finland.

"Russia," replied Norway.

"Who?"

Everyone stopped walking and they all turned once again to stare incredulously at Finland; or, at least, Denmark and Iceland stared at him as though he was an alien while Norway simply raised both his eyebrows.

"You seriously don't know?" said Iceland. Finland shook his head.

"How can you not?" Denmark said. "He's been attacking all over the place since four months ago! Where have you been?"

"I've never heard of any trouble," Finland said, beginning to become nervous. "Who is he?"

"He's a magic-user," answered Norway, turning back around and continuing to walk along the hallway. Finland realized that they were in some sort of small fort. Brick walls passed by as they walked and Norway explained. "We don't know what he manipulates, but I have a feeling that it's dark energy. He's very powerful and has been raiding villages for a few months now. No one knows why, except for the fact that he's trying to find something. You really have never heard of him?"

Finland shook his head and tried to recall where he was a few months ago. Blank images presented themselves to his mind. He could not recall anything important.

"I really don't know," Finland said. And then he was struck by a most peculiar sense, a strong feeling of—fear. "I... yeah."

"Here," Norway said, opening a door. Finland peeked inside.

It was a spacious room, similar to the one Finland had rested in but larger. There was a desk and a table, as well as a few tools. A large sword was mounted on the wall; Finland could see that it was sharpened carefully and lovingly. A bed sat in the corner next to a fireplace.

A tall man was lying in the bed, wrapped loosely in a blue blanket, either asleep, unconscious... or dead.

"That's Sweden," Norway said. "He's been like this ever since Russia stabbed him with a knife a week ago."

Finland immediately grabbed a chair and sat down next to the bed. "Did you detect any poison?"

"Yes, actually," Iceland said, reaching into one of the desk's drawers and pulling out a small, glass vial. "Here it is. But that's not the only problem. Norway thinks its Russia's magic that's hurting him."

Finland took the vial and examined the contents. A bluish solution swirled about inside.

"Can I have my pack?" asked Finland. "I'm assuming you kept it."

"What pack?" asked Iceland. "Norway?"

"I don't know. Denmark?"

The volley of questions flew around and smashed straight into Denmark, along with the expectant stares of everyone else.

"Err... yeah, it's in my room."

He fled and shuffled back nervously with the white bag. Finland snatched it from the taller man and immediately sifted through the contents. He paused.

"Where are my gems?" asked Finland, a clear accusatory tone entering his voice as he glowered at Denmark. "Give them back, now."

"What gems?" asked Iceland.

"I had a bag of gems that I use for magic," Finland said. "But they're gone!"

"I didn't take it!" wailed Denmark, shrinking as Iceland and Norway turned on him too. "Please, I swear!"

Losing patience, Finland drained a cask in his bag of its water. Finland dangled the ball of water threateningly over Denmark's head. "Give it back, now. Or I will not hesitate to freeze you into a block of ice."

"Okay, okay!" Denmark yelped, pulling a small drawstring pouch out of his pocket. "Sheesh, no need to kill me!"

"Why did you steal his stuff?" yelled Iceland, jabbing a finger into Denmark's head repeatedly. "He's an ally, not a prisoner!"

"That's what I said too," Norway said. "But does he care? No."

"But they were pretty! Just like your eyes, Nor-nor," Denmark sighed dreamily. Finland blushed at the sickening sight, but, luckily, a green fist once again materialized to send Denmark hurling out of the room.

"He won't bother us anymore," Norway said. A faint pink tinge covered his cheeks as well.

"What is your power, anyways?" asked Finland, checking to see that all of his gems where in the bag still. "Telekinesis?"

"No, I'm a conjurer. Fairies and trolls, mainly."

"Interesting."

Finland began pulling out a variety of materials that he set on the table, moving around with expert speed. Noticing that Norway and Iceland were simply staring at him, he felt rather nervous.

"Err, sorry, but could you leave me alone? I can't concentrate with so many people looking at me," Finland said nervously. Norway nodded.

"Of course. Call us if you need anything. We are indebted to you for helping us."

"No problem," Finland said as the siblings left the room and shut the door.

The quiet crackling of the fire was the only noise other than the faint breathing of Finland and the warrior. He proceeded to test the poison. Producing several glass vials and a rack to hold them, he added a drop of poison to each one. Solution after solution entered each tube, different reactions bubbling in some while nothing happened in others. Each and every combination was noted in a handy notebook that Finland always made sure to carry around along with plenty of ink and a pen. He toiled for almost an hour before he finally sat back and looked over his notes. He had used up most of the poison, leaving only a few drops in the tube.

Finland produced a book from the depths of his bag, an extensive guide to poisons and antidotes. He pored over the book, scanning for poisons that matched the traits he had discovered for it. Finally, he narrowed it down to one choice and curiously began to retrieve ingredients for the antidote, wondering why the strange man—Russia—would use a poison with such a simple antidote.

"The poison isn't the problem at all," Finland mulled. "It's just a distraction. The magic is what's causing the wound. Strange. Who is this Russia, anyways?"

_Russia._

Finland blinked. A flood of crazed images submerged his mind in confusion.

_Russia. Magic. Symbols. Dark energy. The stone is gone._

Finland took a sharp breath and tore himself out of the endless barrage of memories. He shakily continued to analyze the poison, nervous beads of sweat trailing down his cheek, weaving arcane signs as they slid down...

The antidote was done after an hour of work. The task had taken Finland's mind off of the unsettling memories. Finally, he sat next to his patient, Sweden. Finland watched him curiously. He was breathing lightly, his chest barely moving up and down. Blond hair framed his serious face.

Finland coaxed the man's mouth open and poured the antidote into it, gently helping the liquid down into his stomach and not his lungs. The man did not stir. Finland sighed and pulled back the blanket to examine his injured arm. The upper half of his muscular left arm being wrapped in bandages, Finland figured that this was the arm he needed to heal.

Unwrapping the bandages, Finland winced as an ugly looking wound surfaced. He poked it gently and figured that the knife must have stabbed in and then swung up to create such a long gash on the man's bicep. Finland immediately set to work. Pulling out a bottle of ethanol, he proceeded to sterilize the wound, dabbing at the injury with a cotton ball soaked with the cleaning liquid. Then, he took a deep breath and brought out a bottle of water from his bag. Drawing the liquid out into the air as he had done a few hours ago to threaten Denmark, he gently laid the water on the man's arm, engulfing the wound in liquid that Finland quickly converted into ice. That being done, he gently allowed his magic to seep into the material, causing the ice to shine with a hidden light and soothe the wound, easing any pain that might be causing his patient discomfort.

After he drew the ice away to store in his bottle as water again, he fished out a fresh roll of bandages to wrap the man's arm in. The simple, familiar sequence of wrapping around, tucking in, and tying came easily to Finland's adept fingers now, even though he struggled with it when first learning how to tie the cloth. He finished off the last knot, securely wrapping the man's arm in the clean bandages, and stood up to clean his own hands.

And then Sweden's eyes snapped open as he grabbed Finland's arm in a strong, inflexible grip.


	2. Chapter Two

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Two

* * *

Finland yelped and reflexively jerked his left arm as he felt something clamp around it. Panicking, he turned to face whatever had latched on to him, only to meet the gaze of the fiercest eyes he had ever seen in his life.

Piercing blue met glittering amethyst for a brief second—and then Sweden's grip abruptly loosened as he fell back into unconsciousness again.

The door slammed open, and Iceland flew in.

"What happened?" he asked. "I heard a scream."

"N—Nothing," Finland answered shakily, his right hand gripping his left arm. "He... he woke up for a second."

"He did?" said Iceland, amazed. He stalked over to personally inspect Sweden. "Interesting. Anything go wrong?"

Finland shook his head worriedly. "I don't think so. I just did the standard sterilization of the wound and then I eased some of the pain. Or, at least, I think I did."

"Then I don't know," Iceland said. "Well, if you're alright, I guess everything's okay. You should probably leave him be for now. You probably need some rest too."

"What time is it?"

"The moon's been out for an hour now."

"Oh... it's a bit late, isn't it?" chuckled Finland nervously, distancing himself from the bed. "I guess I should go clean up and sleep."

"I'll bring you to your room," Iceland said. "The washroom's at the end of the hallway, a few doors down from yours."

"Am I just staying in the room I woke up in?"

"Yes."

Finland packed his materials neatly into his white bag and swung it over his shoulder. Iceland indicated that he should follow him and shut the door; Finland stood, momentarily frozen, in the doorway. He chanced one last look back at the unconscious man in the bed before firmly stepping out and closing the door.

He followed Iceland down the hallway. He was aware that Iceland was saying something—maybe he should be listening—but his thoughts wandered. As he walked, Finland mused and recalled the mysterious memories that he had recalled. _A stone. What was that about?_ Finland took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, telling himself firmly to get a grip. Iceland stopped and pointed him into his room before leaving, stating that he needed to, "Check on Norway..."

Finland simply smiled uncertainly before closing the door and collapsing into a chair. He idly fumbled with his clothes for a moment before a glint of metal caught his eye. He glanced back at the spot and was startled to find a large mirror on a bedside desk that had not been in the room before. Getting up, Finland walked over to the glass pane and examined himself. A frightened, blond boy stared back at him.

Frowning, Finland was about to turn away when the metallic glint caught his eye again. Realizing that it was from a necklace that he was wearing around his neck, he curiously took it off to examine it.

A small pendant in the shape of a teardrop hung on the end of a silver chain. It held a finely cut gem that Finland believed was amethyst. He smiled and held it up to his eyes to compare in the mirror. The mineral and his eyes were identical colors.

"I wonder where this came from," he murmured, tucking the necklace away in his bag for safekeeping. "I've never noticed it before."

Feeling a sudden sense of tiredness overtake him, Finland stumbled to the bed wearily. He supposed it was an aftereffect of using magic. He did not bother to even slip under the covers, only lying on top of the blankets and curling up with his head on the pillow. His blond hair was splayed out on the white fabric, and he slowly descended into the realm of sleep.

* * *

Finland groggily opened his eyes and sat up. Sagging slightly, he yawned as he climbed off the bed. Gathering up the few clean garments—the _only_ other clothes he had, actually—from his bag, he stumbled out the door and down the hall to the bathroom.

A while later, he tumbled out of the washroom, still slightly tired but refreshed as he clipped his newly discovered necklace on and tucked it beneath his white dress shirt. And then the full strangeness of the situation hit his cleared mind like an avalanche.

He had been kidnapped. And he had willingly helped his kidnappers. And now, he did not know where he was or how to get around the large house._  
_

Standing statue-like for a few minutes, he finally shook himself out of his stupor and wandered aimlessly down the hall, tossing his dirty clothes in his room as he passed it. He squinted at the end of the long hallway; it seemed to branch off to the sides. Once he had reached the fork, he looked left and right; neither path looked promising, but he decided that he might as well go left.

Finland walked down the hall, noting the various paintings and decorations lining the walls, and suddenly found himself in a large room filled with plenty of cooking tools. A dining table sat at the end of the room farthest from the stoves and ovens. Finland walked to the granite counters and peered into a sink; cups and a mountain of plates greeted him.

"Did they already eat?" wondered Finland, moving along and opening a door to a closet that held various food items. He felt a small pang from his stomach as he realized that he had not eaten since he had been abducted. Fervently hoping that the others would not mind, Finland hungrily ate some berries that he had discovered. He lifted his head at a sound.

Denmark, yawning widely, strolled in casually. Norway followed him, standing straight and looking much more refined than Denmark.

"Hey Finny, I see you've already found the kitchen!" Denmark said, grabbing a bottle of milk.

"You... didn't already eat?" asked Finland.

"What makes you think that?"

"The dishes in the sink?"

Denmark glanced at them and laughed childishly. "Oh, those! We're just too lazy to wash them, so we just chuck 'em when they start going bad."

Norway looked slightly embarrassed. Finland gaped at them. "You can't be serious."

"He is," said Iceland, walking into the room as well. "We're all just lazy idiots who can't do anything."

"I'll wash."

Everyone turned to look at Finland, who clapped his hands to his mouth. Once again, his mouth had spat out words without his brain quite comprehending it.

"Dude, thanks!" Denmark laughed, taking large gulps of milk. "You're the best! Man, I'm so glad I saved you from outside!"

"Saved is a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?" Norway interjected smoothly. "Finland, are you sure? That's an awful lot for you to wash."

Now that he realized what he had said, Finland was _not_ so sure, but he gulped and promised to clean them.

"If you insist," was Norway's conservative reply.

"The truth is," Iceland said, sitting down next to Finland and snitching a few of the berries in Finland's bowl, "we all don't even know how to clean them. If we tried, we'd probably break them anyways."

"Oh, it's easy!" beamed Finland. "I'll teach you later."

"Thanks... but I'll pass," Iceland said, warily stepping away from Finland, who sighed.

"Lazy," Finland muttered, picking up his bowl and setting it in the sink before starting the arduous task of cleaning the veritable pile of dishes.

While he may have cheated slightly and used his magic to hose the dishes with a burst of water, he did manage to clean each dish; deciding that he might as well clean the house, which would also help him get familiar with his new home, he hoisted up as many rags as he could and wandered aimlessly around the fortress, scrubbing down walls and ceilings and bathrooms and memorizing the exact layout of the house.

There were two floors plus a basement. The ground floor held the bedrooms while the top floor held a few other things, including a library and a weaponry room. The basement was solely for training. Candles and torches lit the entire household—Finland assumed that Denmark liked to light things on fire—and the whole mansion was built out of solid brick and steel.

As the house was enormous, Finland spent the entire day cleaning without giving it a second thought, leaving sparkling surfaces behind him wherever he went. Only after he had cleaned himself off of the grime that had accumulated over the entire day did he remember that he had a patient to attend to. Dressing swiftly in comfortable clothes, he slipped into Sweden's room.

The man was still unconscious; Finland noted that he had not stirred from his position last night. Finland berated himself as he saw that he did not re-cover the man with blankets. He sat in the chair he had placed next to the bed the previous night and uncorked a bottle of water to heal Sweden's arm with. He exposed Sweden's arm after removing the bandages with scissors, gently easing water over the wound. Tonight, he would try to seal the wound.

Finland's eyes were closed as he focused intensely on his objective. He visualized a clear picture of the wound in his mind, covered with water as it actually was. _Regeneration or stitches?_ he wondered, before deciding that regeneration would be a better idea in this case. Using the water as a transfer medium, he poured energy through the water and into the very cells of Sweden's arm, feeding them and encouraging them to heal. They began to divide, healing and replacing tissue as they filled the stab wound with new flesh.

A few minutes later, Finland released the spell; the water had been absorbed by Sweden's cells as his arm healed. Finland was breathing heavily as he rested from the exertion of using the spell. Opening his eyes slightly, he examined the man once again. Finland leaned back in his chair and frowned. Sweden was still unconscious.

"Well," sighed Finland, getting up and packing his materials again, "at least his arm's healed."

He was about leave, halfway through the doorway, but he glanced back once again. But after a few seconds, he left, shutting the door on the room.

* * *

Finland quickly established a routine in the strange little household. Every morning, he would get up and eat breakfast, sometimes joined by one or two or all of the other members of the house capable of moving. After that, he would wander upstairs to the immense library, eagerly fishing books out of shelves and diving into them. Most were books about magic; he busied himself with further study of spells and magic. Every now and then, he would visit the weapon room, and sometimes, he would even descend to the basement to practice a few new interesting spells. He tried out a few of the weapons as well.

Lunchtime soon came around as the clock hands flew by; Finland would fix something up and steadily eat away at it. Iceland usually sat with him.

In the afternoon, he would jump up to the library once again, often falling asleep in a comfortable chair next to a window while reading a book. Sometimes, he would explore the house and delightedly discover a new room.

Out of the three meals he ate each day, dinner was the only one where Norway, Denmark, and Iceland would all be guaranteed to join him to eat. If one of them was not present, they knew something was wrong. In fact, only a few days after Finland had mentally established this fact, Denmark and Norway where both nowhere to be seen; Iceland and Finland worriedly searched for them, ending up in Denmark's bedroom where Norway was calmly reading a thermometer and Denmark was lying in bed.

"He's sick," Norway had said. Finland helped him for the evening, with Iceland making trips between the kitchen and the room to bring food and water for everyone.

And after dinner, Finland would climb upstairs to the library once again. He really loved books; they were always there, providing him with knowledge and enjoyment. The library had almost become his home. Norway often chided him about finding him at night half-asleep and lying in a position that would surely cramp his joints the next day. Finland would grin sleepily and wander back down to his room.

But of course, Finland still had one task every night before he went to sleep. He had a patient to take care of, after all. Whenever he finished with his day's work, he would make sure to go to Sweden's room to try and heal the man. As he learned new spells, he tried them out, attempting to the best of his abilities to dispel the dark aura that seemed to loom over the other man, but nothing worked. More than once, Iceland found Finland sleeping upright in a chair in Sweden's room after spending the entire night attempting to heal the man.

Finland honestly had no idea why he was trying so hard to heal Sweden. Perhaps it was just because he could not leave a patient to lie sick forever. Whatever the reason, Finland knew he had to heal the man.

Yet, even after all of his best efforts, Sweden still remained unconscious in the bed. His heart was beating and he was breathing, but those were the only signs of life that Finland could identify.

And so, Finland had found a new life in the quaint household, a life devoted to learning and healing and barely anything else—at least, until Russia appeared in front of their door.


	3. Chapter Three

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Three

* * *

Finland was reading in the library, engrossed in a complex textbook dealing with warding, a type of protective magic, when he heard footsteps rumble past the room. Worried, he quickly got up and opened the door to see Denmark fly past, enraged and holding the battleaxe he had used on Finland when they had first met. Not even bothering to run down the steps to the ground floor, Denmark simply jumped and landed heavily with a roll to break his fall before continuing on. Norway rushed past as well and jumped in the same manner, but floated lightly onto the floor instead.

"Norway!" Finland called. The man, wearing a blue sailor's outfit today, turned to look up at him. "What's going on?"

"Stay inside and unseen. Do not leave the house."

It was a command. Finland nervously nodded and retreated back into the library again. Iceland had also showed up and followed Finland into the room.

"What's going on?" Finland whispered. Iceland seemed angry.

"Russia is here."

Finland blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Denmark saw him. He's standing right outside the door."

Finland made to get up, but Iceland pulled him back down out of sight of the windows. "Norway said stay hidden."

Finland huffed and sat back down reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Denmark had burst out of the door, followed closely by Norway. A giggling man stood facing them, a long beige coat wrapped around him and a white scarf fluttering wildly in the wind.

"What do you want, Russia?" said Norway, stoic as ever. Denmark was almost growling at his side.

"Oh, hi, Norway!" laughed the tall man, opening large, childish, purple eyes. Filled with mystery and shadow, Norway had never dared to truly maintain eye contact with the man. "I'm just stopping by!"

"Get out," Denmark snapped. "Leave, now!"

"Aw, don't you want me to heal your friend?" asked Russia sadly. He put a hand to his chin, pretending to be thinking hard. "Hmm, what was his name again? Sud? Sved? Swed? Oh, Sweden!"

"Shut up!" roared Denmark, swinging his battleaxe in a fiery arc through the air and sending a wave of fire rushing at the other man; Russia disappeared in a whirl of dark purple wind, and the flames soared past him to blast into a pile of snow. Russia re-materialized in front of them.

"Temper, temper," chuckled the tall man. "Denmark, you should learn to control yourself, like Norway."

"Russia, what is it?" Norway said, intervening before Denmark could attempt to lunge at Russia. "If you are here to attack us again..."

"Oh, no," Russia said, tutting and shaking his head. "Russia would never do such an evil thing. Russia is only here to ask if you have found something that belongs to him!"

"What exactly are you looking for?" asked Norway.

"Well, a very pretty, very nice purple gem that is very precious to me!" Russia said brightly, skipping in place as he talked.

"No gems here," Norway said. "Now, if you would please leave our property..."

"Are you sure?" asked Russia sadly. His dark eyes were downcast. "I'm sure you must have seen it. My little, lovely gem is called Finland."

Denmark's head whipped up to allow his eyes to stare incredulously at Russia. Norway's expression was unfazed, although confusion seemed to cover his eyes.

Inside the house, Iceland gasped as he crouched with Finland behind a sofa.

"What is it?" asked Finland worriedly.

"Norway just told me something bad," gulped Iceland.

"What? How?"

"Telepathy," Iceland answered, before shushing the other man.

Russia giggled at the stupefied look covering Denmark's face. "Well, I guess you have seen him! If you are keeping him, I will take him from you; unless, of course, you are willing to give him to me?"

Norway realized that it was hopeless to deny the fact that they knew who Finland was. Still, he tried to evade the question.

"Yes, we have seen him. But we do not know where he is. He talked with us one day when we found him in the woods, but after that, we never heard of him again."

Russia yawned widely. "Liar, liar, liar. Naughty, naughty, naughty. You should be punished."

"If anyone's getting punished, it's you!" said Denmark, hefting his battleaxe. "Reverse what you did to Sweden!"

"Why should I?" asked Russia, who seemed to be genuinely confused. "Oh, I know! If you give my little Finland back, I will heal your Sweden! It's a fair trade, don't you think?"

Norway glanced at Denmark and briefly diverged his attention to Iceland, who was communicating with him mentally.

"Wh—what?" Denmark asked, his eyebrows crunching together as he continued to stare at Russia.

"Finland for Sweden. It's a simple request." Any tone of childish fun had left Russia's voice. It was clear, cold, and harsh. Norway began to prepare his powers as a precaution.

"We don't have Finland. Find him yourself," Norway said flatly.

"You really don't have him?" Russia asked. Norway shook his head. "Well, I'll check, won't I?"

"Wait, you can't just scan our house—" blurted Denmark, but a wave of chilled air washed over him and he stopped talking. The magical probe surrounded the house and leaked in through any crevice, any weakness, and flew deeper in, searching and finding all sorts of objects.

Norway had frozen and was wary of disrupting Russia, for the man could most likely cause the house to explode as easily as he probed it. Russia simply narrowed his eyes in concentration for a few minutes, and then closed his eyes and sighed.

"I suppose I have to believe you this time. But you are lying. I know you have Finland somewhere."

And with that, the man disappeared with a swish of his beige coat, leaving only smoky traces of his presence behind.

"How did he know?" Denmark immediately said. "And how—" Norway clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Not outside. He could still be near."

They retreated back into the house and securely locked the doors. Norway sent out a few trolls and fairies to keep watch outside and inside the house for safety. Turning, they saw Finland and Iceland emerge from the basement.

"Iceland said he left," Finland explained. "So, what happened?"

Denmark and Norway glanced at each other and averted their eyes.

"Finland... you really know nothing about Russia?" said Norway. Finland shook his head.

"Iceland said something was bad. Did this Russia do something?"

Denmark took a deep breath. "Finland... He wants you."

Once Finland comprehended the words, confusion swept lethargically throughout his mind, hazing through and seemingly picking up random thoughts and memories as it did so.

"What?"

"He wants you. Do you know why?"

Finland's gaze was losing focus as he began to remember things. _A whole different life. Russia. Tall, childish, and cruel. And his connection to Finland? He was—_

Finland snapped out of his daze.

"I... might know. But I can't remember."

The other three magic-users continued to stare at Finland.

"Well, how did you escape his probe?" Norway asked. "He was searching the house for you."

At this, Finland grinned. "I just happened to be reading a textbook on warding before you guys ran outside. So I made a shield."

Iceland shook his head. "It was amazing. Norway, you told me about the probe, right? So I told Finland, and he just grabbed some water and froze a dome around us. He carved some stuff into the ice and then magicked it, and the probe couldn't penetrate it."

A ghost of a smile played on Norway's lips. Denmark laughed.

"Way to go, dude!" Denmark said, clapping Finland on the back. "I'm so glad you're our ally!"

The rest of the day was uneventful, although slightly more subdued that usual. Finland chatted with Iceland about his telepathic powers and ended up establishing a mental link so that Iceland could communicate with him mentally. Even so, as Iceland explained, there were limitations to telepathy.

"If the person on the other side doesn't want to accept thoughts, they can sever the connection. And if there isn't a connection to begin with, I would have to break through the natural barriers of the mind to try to talk with someone. Depending on the person, that can range in difficulty from simple to exhausting. So just remember, you can always cut me off if you don't want to talk to me. Just reconnect the link if you want to talk again. Okay?"

After the four of them had eaten, Finland, as usual, visited his patient. The fire crackled and spewed heated light into the room. Finland calmed his inner mind and encompassed his hands in water before placing them on Sweden's chest. A soft glow built up under his palms as he slowly activated the hidden powers that water held.

Every physical object that possessed matter held deeper potentials than the surface revealed. Humans who managed to activate that hidden potential became magic-users. In fact, any living creature had a chance of becoming a magic-user, but the abilities only rose in some. For inanimate objects, their hidden powers could be activated by various forces, including nature and magic; sometimes, it was spontaneous and random.

However, the activation of the water around Finland's hands was not random. He had unlocked the potential in the water. Versatile in normal life, water was also very intriguing in magic, with numerous uses. Finland was attempting to manipulate several of its abilities at once, including healing and natural flow. The blob of water around Finland's hands dwindled slightly as threads of the water snaked away from the core, trickling along Sweden's body to several key points, including several acupuncture points that governed energy flow. A spider-like design of water threads ran along all of Sweden, and each droplet began to glow as Finland concentrated.

_Let's try to move his internal energy..._ A few days ago, Finland had discovered the cause of Sweden's comatose state: Russia's magic had blocked all of his energy flow. Rather than the constant flow and rush of energy that living creatures experienced unconsciously, Sweden's energy had been frozen in place, incapable of moving. And so, Finland had been attempting to break the spell by moving Sweden's energy for him.

The water glowed more brightly as Finland willed its powers to increase in strength. He was magically connected to Sweden's internal energy, and he could clearly see that nothing was flowing. Luckily, Finland thought, water was very effective in dealing with stagnant energy.

And through what seemed like a miracle, Finland felt the energy shift and begin to move. Reluctant at first, but then increasing, Sweden's energy blew by in a torrential waterfall of power that knocked Finland out of his system.

Finland had thrown himself back in a reflex to avoid the crushing power and was stunned to see so much raw force inside a person's body. Shakily, he drew the water away from Sweden and dumped it into a nearby basin, before settling down on the chair again and hoping that he had cured the man.

A few minutes later, Sweden's eyes snapped open and Finland was reminded of that first night when Sweden had opened his eyes and grabbed his arm.

Only today, Sweden grabbed both of his arms and flipped him over onto the bed, pinning Finland down as he gasped in surprise and glaring at him with clear, angry eyes.


	4. Chapter Four

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Four

* * *

"Ah, I'm sorry! I just, I was heating, no, _healing_ you and then I guess I probably startled you and I'm really—"

"Who are you?"

Sweden's deep voice deftly sliced through Finland's babbling. A thick accent was embedded in Sweden's words. Finland immediately closed his mouth.

"Finland, I—!"

Denmark had opened the door and was now gaping at the sight. Finland was trapped under Sweden; the smaller man had been completely pinned and immobilized.

"Sweden! When did you wake up?" Denmark yelped excitedly. Sweden barely glanced at him.

"Who is he?" Sweden asked, directing his question at Denmark this time. His voice, though quiet, was far from weak. Finland could feel it resonate throughout the room.

"He's Finland! And..." Denmark blinked before grinning raucously as the sight sank into his rather filthy mind. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Sweden flicked his eyes in annoyance at the other man, but Finland simply stared blankly.

"Huh?"

Denmark, slightly put off by the short man's innocent confusion, simply told Sweden to release Finland. The tall man did so reluctantly, getting off the bed and allowing Finland to sit up.

"You still haven't told me who you are," Sweden muttered, piercing Finland with his gaze.

"Err, I'm Finland! I... uh..."

"He healed you, Sweden. We found him a while ago while you were still unconscious," Denmark explained, rolling his eyes. "And I bet you're hungry."

Sweden shrugged imperceptibly—Finland immediately noticed the gesture, although Denmark seemed completely clueless—and left the room. Denmark smiled normally at Finland, scaring Finland slightly, seeing as Denmark never did anything normal._  
_

"Thanks a lot. You'll have to tell us how you did it tomorrow. You aught to get some sleep now."

Finland nodded graciously and scurried off, shrinking into the familiar shelter of his own room. He did not bother to change into more comfortable clothes, simply lying down on top of his blankets. The last embers of the fire slowly dimmed as Finland fell asleep.

* * *

A prickling sensation woke Finland up the next morning. He sensed another body in his room without opening his eyes; whoever it was, they were staring at him intensely.

Finland barely peeked, letting a slit of light enter his eyes as he tried to identify the intruder. He opened his eyes fully and screamed in a painfully embarrassing fashion as Sweden came into view. The other man seemed unfazed.

"...G'morning."

Finland twitched as he sat up, running a hand through his hair as he did so.

"Oh, Sweden!" Finland said, laughing weakly. "I'm sorry, you startled me! How are you doing? Feel uncomfortable? Any relapses? I'll make you some medicine right away—"

"Here."

Sweden held out a plate filled with all sorts of Finland's favorite foods. Finland blinked and accepted the dish with a small smile.

"Thank you, Sweden, but you didn't have to do that. The kitchen's just down the hall, I could have gone myself."

Finland noted that the other man was not looking at him, but rather at the drawer next to Finland's bed.

"Had to thank you somehow."

"Thanks," Finland said, eagerly popping some crisp bread into his mouth. It was warm and had soaked up a bit of juice from a crushed berry. Finland closed his eyes and savored the taste. "How did you know I loved to eat all of this?"

"Iceland."

They sat in silence for the next few minutes, Sweden finally moving his gaze to Finland, who was completely oblivious as he was too busy with the plate of delectable food in front of him.

Sweden took the chance to study the man in front of him. Finland had large, avid eyes the color of amethysts. His blond hair was delightfully mussed from his sleep. And his cheek bulged slightly as he ate.

Finally, Finland realized that Sweden had been doing nothing but stare at him. He smiled hesitantly as he turned to face the other man.

"Uh, do you want some?" Finland asked, his brain hopelessly providing no other words to him as he held out his plate. Sweden stared at Finland for a few moments before taking a single blackberry and popping it into his mouth. And then he stood up, muttered an incoherent thanks to Finland, and left the room, leaving behind an extremely confused Finland.

"...He's scary," Finland muttered, before returning to his meal.

* * *

For a few days afterwards, Sweden was continuously present in Finland's room when he woke up. Finland, on the other hand, would make sure to visit Sweden every night, as he was worried that his patient could fall into relapses of sickness.

However, Finland noticed that this was not the only time they interacted; rather, Sweden was constantly looking at him. Feeling slightly unnerved by the intense gaze, the short man could not help but feel embarrassed. Even so, Finland began form a tentative friendship with the warrior, chatting amiably with him every night and morning when they were in each others' room, and occasionally greeting the tall man in the hallways when they passed each other. Although, their conversations were decidedly one-sided, as Sweden usually sat in silence while Finland blathered away about an endless list of topics. Finland, once he realized this, ducked his head and felt heat rise to his cheeks; he figured that he was annoying. Sweden gently contradicted him.

And so, with every passing day, Finland grew less and less wary of the taller man; Sweden, though, usually remained stoic and serious, and Finland found it difficult to delve past Sweden's emotionless barriers.

But if Finland were able to see what Sweden was thinking about, he would find that Sweden had developed a fondness for him as well.

* * *

"Norway? Denmark? Where are you going?"

Finland had stumbled down from the library, clearly having just awoken from a nap, if his yawns and eye-rubbing were any signs. Denmark shoved his feet into black boots.

"We're going to the village. We're low on supplies."

Finland had heard about the village from the others, but had never actually gone to it. According to Iceland, it was a quaint little place with a market and quite a few people.

Struck by a sudden desire to visit the outside world, Finland left and reappeared with his coat.

"Can I come too?"

Norway glanced at Finland. "It might be too dangerous for you to come because of Russia."

"Well..." Finland hesitated. The thought that the strange, powerful man named Russia had been searching for him had nagged Finland's head for days. He was worried, but refused to let his fear prevent him from going about his daily life.

"Norway, let him come," said Denmark before Finland could say something. "Call Iceland and Sweden too, and we'll be fine! Russia can't take all of us on, can he?"

"I would not be surprised."

"Norway, don't be so uptight. Finland, I think it's fine," said Denmark. "Go get Ice and Sweden and tell 'em to come along."

"I still think that this is a bad idea," Norway said, "but I have already called Iceland. He is getting Sweden."

"Thanks, Nor-nor!"

"I will not hesitate to pummel you with a troll."

Finland slipped on his coat as the other two bickered; Iceland and Sweden emerged from a hallway. Almost instantaneously, Sweden's gaze snapped to Finland, who still jumped at the sudden eye contact and shyly slipped on his own boots.

"We're going to the village?" Iceland asked, shaking an arm through a sleeve of his coat. "Why are all of us going?"

"To make sure nothing bad happens to Finland," said Norway. "Of course, I would love to have my little brother join us anyways."

"Shut up."

"I'm your big brother, you know."

"Don't care."

Finland smiled at the sight of the siblings and turned to face Sweden again, smothering any residual fear of the tall man.

"Is that your sword?" asked Finland, pointing to the large weapon he had seen numerous times mounted in Sweden's room. It was a large sword and a solid weapon. A strike with the flat of the blade would be enough to kill. Sweden hefted the sword and strapped it to his back.

"Yes."

And then, Sweden pulled out another sword and held it out to an astonished Finland wordlessly.

"Is this for me?"

"Hm."

Finland took the weapon and unsheathed it, delightfully examining the fine craftsmanship. The blade was fine, flexible metal, sharpened on both edges to a slim line; the handle was simple but elegant. The grip consisted of finely polished wood that was smooth to the touch. The pommel was made of a silvery metal and fashioned in a simple oval shape; an amethyst crystal was cut and shaped to mold to the end of the pommel. The cross-guard was perpendicular to the grip and was fitted with an amethyst on both ends.

"Sweden... this is incredible!" Joy almost radiated from Finland as he turned to the sheath, which was just as beautiful and made of polished wood like the grip. "Where did you get this?"

"Found it in my room... s'been sitting there for years."

Sweden realized that Norway was observing him; he returned the questioning glance with a glare. Norway shook his head disbelievingly and turned away.

"Well, it's a beautiful sword. Thank you, Sweden," Finland said, tying it around his back and securing the knot in front of his chest.

"S'my thanks for healing me."

"Are you still thinking about that? I told you, don't worry about it! Anyways, I've only lately been practicing with weapons... Denmark helped me learn with some of his swords upstairs, but this one's just amazing!"

Norway ushered Iceland out the door, following Denmark, who had already gone outside. Finland watched them leave; he contemplated for a moment, but then hugged Sweden briefly before running out. Sweden had frozen to the spot.

"Yo, Sweden! Get your butt out here, we gotta go!"

Denmark's yelling brought Sweden out of his reverie. He sighed and tramped outside to join the others, walking through the snow and venturing towards the village...

* * *

"Sweden, come with me," Denmark said upon their arrival at the outskirts of the village. "Finland, Iceland, Norway, you three stay together. Iceland, keep your telepathy open in case we need to contact you. Okay?"

Everyone nodded in confirmation. "Norway, go get some more food. Sweden and I will get other supplies."

Norway and Iceland led an awed Finland through town; the brothers pointed out a few of the more interesting things in the village but moved on to the village square, where a market had been set up.

While only a village, the market was bustling with plenty of people from the wooden houses surrounding the area. Different sellers led different stalls and yelled out the goods they had brought in for the day. Norway walked to a fruit stall, where he was greeted warmly by the seller, an old woman who had clearly met Norway before.

Finland wandered around while Norway bought food, making sure to always keep Norway and Iceland in sight, which was actually quite difficult given the number of people in his way. Iceland had already set up a mental conversation with Finland, and Finland chatted amiably with his friend in his head. Engrossed in his thoughts, he failed to notice the snapped tree branch lying in the street until after he tripped over it.

Before he could contact the rocky ground though, he felt a large hand grab his arm and pull him back. Finland yelped and waved his arms to steady himself and turned to thank his savior. A tall man with light hair and cheery, purple eyes greeted him.

"Da, hello! I'm glad I caught you before you fell!" the man said.

"Oh, thank you for helping me," Finland said, dusting off his shirt.

"No problem. Have a nice day here at the market!"

The man walked away, humming happily. His beige coat fluttered wildly about his ankles in a nonexistent breeze, and his white scarf gently cascaded behind him. Finland blinked a few times before turning to join up with Norway and Iceland again, the latter frantically sending thoughts to Finland asking if he was alright.

Finland found them a few minutes later, Norway laden down with plenty of bags. Iceland made sure Finland was alright before they decided to meet up with Sweden and Denmark again.

Finland followed them, contributing words to the chatter whenever it seemed as though he should, but his thoughts strayed back to the stranger who helped him. He seemed so familiar that Finland almost managed to match a name with his face.

But not quite.


	5. Chapter Five

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Five

* * *

A small, shy-looking, blond-haired boy hid behind a house as he watched several people pass by. His eyes darted to and fro, quickly memorizing and detailing each thing he latched his attention to. He spoke to seemingly thin air.

"I don't see him... I really don't think this is a good idea."

Another man, with longer, brown hair and frightened, green eyes, peered out from an alleyway.

"Latvia's right, it's a bad idea. No sign here either..."

And finally, a third man, with dark blond hair that smoothly framed his face, opened his eyes and looked up from his previous slouched position.

The third man pushed a strange device he had bought up his nose; these "spectacles" that he had procured from a foreign seller miraculously fixed his blurry eyesight. It was almost like magic.

"You know we have to contact Finland," this man said, talking to the air. "But if we're discovered..."

And fear overtook the expressions of all three men.

* * *

"Sweden, how did you get wounded in the first place?" asked Finland, munching happily on a piece of sweet, fried dough he had bought. Their groups had rejoined, and the five of them now walked down the streets, gladly exploring any other novelty stalls. Sweden stared at Finland impassively.

"Can't see very well. Russia surprised me."

"You can't see very well?"

Sweden shook his head. Finland mulled over the idea for a moment.

"You know," Finland began slowly, "I saw a stand a while ago... it was selling something weird. I think it was from a place far south of here. I think they're called... glasses?"

Finland led the other man to the stall in question, where a colorful array of strangely made items awaited them. The seller, a cheerful young man, greeted them.

"Ya, hi! We're selling eyeglasses! The newest invention in our country! Would you like to try them?" the man asked, a small curl of his hair bouncing happily as he spoke.

"Sure," Finland said. "My friend can't see very well... can you take a look?"

"Of course!" laughed the man. In a few minutes, Sweden had been seated in a comfortable chair behind the stall as the stall owner grabbed various devices.

"Ve, I'm going to look at your eyes, okay?"

Sweden twitched his head slightly.

After another few minutes, the seller vanished again and reappeared with one of his "eyeglasses", which consisted of two square frames filled in with curved glass.

"Put these on, it should work!" the seller said, holding the glasses out to Sweden. Sweden took them and slowly slid them over his head, moving the frame slightly to fit better around his ears. He blinked and was amazed—but of course, that emotion was only internal.

"They're good," Sweden muttered, turning to face Finland. The world was wonderfully clear again, just like it was when he was a child. He could see Finland better from a far away distance; he could even just make out the other three members of their group standing at a few other stalls. "Thanks for bringing me, Finland."

"No problem!" came the reply. "Here, let me get some money to pay for this—"

"No. I'll pay."

"Consider it a gift—"

"No."

Finland shook his head and smiled. "You really are stubborn, aren't you? Alright then, you can pay. I'll wait outside, okay?"

Leaving Sweden to discuss the matters of cost with the seller, Finland wandered outside and leaned against the wall of a nearby building. The snow was gently falling again, drifting down in little clumps of white powder. Finland smiled and tried to catch a few of the snowflakes, although mostly in vain. Finland did not notice the man staring down at him from the roof of the building whose wall he was leaning against. But the man noticed him.

"Finland..." the man whispered, looking elated, yet terrified at the same time. His smooth, dark blond hair faintly traced his face as the wind gently pushed it; he habitually pushed up his eyeglasses once again.

And then the glasses shattered as a terrifying energy pulsed around them.

* * *

"Oh, Sweden!" Finland said, heading towards the tall man, who was adjusting his glasses. "How are the eyeglasses? They look good on you!"

Sweden resisted a sudden urge to smile. "Good. Can see clear."

"That's great, Sweden." Finland smiled childishly up at the older man. "But, now I get to do this!"

And with a flick of his wrist, Finland snatched the glasses off of the other man's nose—or, he tried to, but Sweden's hand whipped up in reflex and caught Finland's before the other man snagged his new accessory.

"Bad Finland."

Finland pouted. Sweden slowly lowered his hand and released Finland's, and the two regrouped with Denmark, Norway, and Iceland (all of whom seemed intrigued by the strange devices sitting on Sweden's head).

They ambled steadily home, treading through the snow-filled forest and holding bags containing numerous items. Their house was soon in sight. Finland yawned and ambled up to the library to sleep for a while; Sweden muttered something noncommittally and left as well. Denmark dumped the bags in the kitchen and grabbed Norway, Iceland chasing after them and yelling angrily.

Finland closed the door of the library and pasted a block of ice on the wood; it was another warding spell that would block out noise from outside the room. Sighing contentedly, he curled up in his favorite, plushy chair. He absentmindedly fiddled with his necklace, eventually pulling it out and examining it vaguely in the sunlight. Soon asleep, the amethyst tear lay on his chest as he dreamed.

But while Finland slept, something rather unusual happened. Norway and Iceland paused in their joint assault of Denmark to peer out the window. Denmark was stupefied as well. Sweden glanced outside for a moment and seemed interested.

The sun had broken through the eternal clouds. Faint rays illuminated the house; one beam in particular flew straight through glass and alighted on Finland's chest. The amethyst necklace began to glow; the sunbeam began to shrink.

Soon, the entire light ray had disappeared, but the teardrop necklace was glowing just as brightly as the light had. The sun was soon covered by the clouds again and the necklace's glow slowly subsided until it became a smooth gem once again.

Finland only shifted slightly in his sleep.

* * *

"Oh... too bad." The voice was filled with a fake sadness. "I thought I could trust you."

Three people were on the floor before a tall man wearing a white scarf. They were in a stone room, solid slabs of rock embedded in the floor and walls. As if mocking their desperate situation, the room was filled with cheery lights, with flickering, white candles burning steadily throughout the room.

Out of the three men on the floor, the one with long, brown hair looked up first, fearfully but resolutely.

"Sir, we did not mean any disrespect."

Another one, a boy with spiky, blond hair, furtively glanced up. He was nearly in tears.

"Sir, please forgive us."

The tall man smiled. "Latvia, you may go."

The small boy stumbled unsteadily to his feet, covered with bruises, and bowed unsteadily before exiting the room as fast as his injured legs would take him.

The tall man turned to the brown-haired man. "Lithuania, you may go."

The man in question wobbled as he stood, bowing like the other boy and walking slowly out the room, casting fearful glances at the one remaining servant.

"Estonia, Estonia, what do I do with you?"

The tall man tutted. Kneeling at his feet was a blond man wearing only the frames of a pair of glasses; the glass had shattered.

"First you help Finland escape from here. Then you try to warn him. And you won't tell me what you did to him either. What do I do with you?"

Estonia lifted his head and shook as he attempted to keep eye contact with the man.

"Why don't you kill me, Russia?" he whispered. The tall man smiled.

"Maybe I will."

One dark second later, Estonia's glasses slipped down his nose again. He didn't push them back up.


	6. Chapter Six

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Six

* * *

Estonia's eyes flickered open weakly. The faint glow of a fire illuminated a room—_his_ room, he realized in relief—and he feebly struggled to sit up in his bed. The man named Lithuania was sitting anxiously next to him. Latvia, the boy, was sitting at the wooden table.

"Estonia!" Lithuania immediately cried. "You're awake!"

Latvia hurried to bring over a glass of water. Estonia slowly drank the liquid, relishing in the temporary relief from the pain that was spreading throughout his body.

"We thought you were dead," Latvia whispered. "After Master Russia left the room, we went back and you were lying on the floor. We were so worried."

Estonia nodded mutely in thanks.

"You should be glad that Master Russia didn't take your life," Lithuania said. "He said that he doesn't mind if you stay in bed for a few weeks to recover."

"To recover from _his_ spells," Estonia spat bitterly. He reached for his glasses, which he usually placed on his bedside drawer, but remembered that they had been destroyed by Russia. "We all know the only reason he didn't kill me is because he'd never be able to figure out what to do with Finland if I was dead."

Lithuania leveled the other man with a severe look. "Estonia. Be reasonable. Don't ever do anything like this again. Master Russia might actually kill you if you do. And you still haven't told him what you did to Finland. You haven't told _any_ of us, actually."

"He's not going to kill me until he knows what I did to Finland. And there's no need for you to know."

"Estonia, Russia has enough power that he could probably tear your brain apart and inspect it inch by inch," Lithuania said. "If you don't tell him, he'll get the information soon enough anyways."

Estonia laughed mirthlessly. "However strong he may be, he'll never get into someone's mind if I don't want him to."

Lithuania sighed in exasperation. "That's assuming your powers are still strong enough. You may be the most powerful magic-user in the world when it comes to the mind and the brain, but Master Russia can still weaken you until you can't defend yourself against him anymore. Plus, you'd never be able to get into his mind with your magic, because his mental barriers are too strong."

Estonia shifted sullenly. "I don't care. He's not getting Finland."

Lithuania sighed. "Estonia, I understand. But why would you try to _find_ Finland? You're endangering him by knowing his location, and you dragged us along too!"

"You didn't have to follow me," Estonia snapped. "And, he wouldn't be able to get into Fin's mind even if he found him."

Latvia's eyes widened; Lithuania gasped slightly.

"Estonia!" Lithuania said, the word rushing out with a breath of air. "You didn't—!"

"I did," snapped the other man. "Now stop pestering me. And if you could, go to town and see if that stand with the eyeglasses is still there. I need a new pair."

Latvia scurried away, glad to leave the room as he felt the tension building up.

"What _exactly_ did you do?" Lithuania whispered frantically. "Tell me!"

"No. If I tell you, Russia will find out." Estonia resolutely turned away and hid under the blankets of his bed, but Lithuania yanked the covers away.

Estonia abruptly threw his power out at the other man; Lithuania gasped and fell backwards as he felt a sharp mental probe sink into his brain.

"Get out of my head! Estonia, what are you doing?" Lithuania cried.

"You may be older," said Estonia, eyes burning, "but I am more powerful, and you know it. Your magic can't defeat mine."

Estonia withdrew his mental assault and shrank underneath the covers once again. Lithuania took a deep breath and then stepped out the door, slamming it behind him as he went.

* * *

Finland woke up slowly and yawned. He tucked his necklace back under his shirt; for some reason, he did not want to reveal it to anyone. Slipping out the door, he ran straight into a firm chest that could only belong to Sweden.

"Fin..." The nickname made Finland smile. "I was just 'bout to wake you up."

"Good afternoon, Sweden," Finland said. "Any reason why I should be awake?"

"It's snowing."

"It usually is."

"Hm."

"So?"

"..."

Finland quirked an eyebrow at the silent man. "Sweden?"

"Do you want..." Sweden felt his throat turn dry for no explainable reason. "Do you... want to go outside?"

"Sure! You know what? I challenge you to a snowball fight!" Finland said, practically jumping. "You're so gonna lose!"

Sweden's mouth twitched momentarily. "Hm. We'll see."

Finland quickly ran downstairs to grab thicker clothes. Sweden turned and glanced down the hallway.

"What do you want, Norway?"

The hidden man melted out of the shadows. His expressionless eyes bored into Sweden.

"I can tell, you know."

Sweden glared back. "What?"

"You know what. And I think it's dangerous."

Sweden's glare intensified. "Why?"

"I do not know how he's connected to Russia, but I can guarantee that it's nothing good. So, I suggest you quell your emotions and let them go."

Sweden turned away and slowly descended the stairs. "No."

"Why?" It was Norway's turn to ask questions. He was genuinely curious. "Why him?"

"Because."

"You know that's not an answer."

Sweden stopped at the bottom of the staircase. Norway continued to look down at him.

"Make your decision and stay with it."

Sweden took a deep breath and continued to walk towards the door. Norway shook his head and walked away as well, melding back with the shadows.

Finland was outside by the time Sweden had tramped into the snow. The shorter man had already built a veritable castle of snow and ice.

"No cheating," Sweden said disapprovingly.

"I didn't use magic," grinned Finland. Sweden blinked.

"Really?"

"Really."

Sweden suddenly felt somewhat afraid as he stared up at the wall that Finland had packed together within the span of five minutes.

"Give me a moment."

Finland sat back in a snow chair and grinned as he watched Sweden's futile efforts to build some sort of protection against what would clearly be a one-sided snowball fight.

"Done," Sweden said, crouching behind a mound of snow and shaping snowballs into perfect spheres. "Go ahead—"

Sweden had barely managed to say a word before a snowball fell straight onto his head. He whirled around and stared at Finland, who was laughing.

"My aim's good, hm?" Finland said, smirking and tossing another snowball in his hand. As if to emphasize the point, the snowball flew straight into Sweden's chest.

Sweden picked up one of his perfectly sculpted snowballs to retaliate, but Finland's snow fortress barely shook when Sweden lobbed the snowball at it with all his might.

Somehow, within the next hour, Sweden had managed to tear down Finland's northern battlements, while his own shield of snow had been punched through with holes. Finally, Sweden surrendered, much to Finland's amusement. They laid in the snow side-by-side, resting from their exertion.

Finland talked and Sweden listened. The snow fell gently to the ground and they were both soon coated with a layer of crystals. Unconcerned, they remained in the snow.

Norway watched from a window. Ignoring his inner squeals of joy, he seemed to disapprove of the situation, but he sighed and let them be. Releasing the curtain from his grasp, he walked away, and the curtain fluttered back into place.

Outside, Finland used his magic to whisk the snow off of their clothes. He offered his hand to the Sweden; Sweden took it, feeling his heart suddenly begin to beat harder. And then Sweden laughed, because Finland could not pull him up, as hard as he tried. Finland paused his efforts.

"You laughed," Finland said, wide-eyed. Sweden seemed embarrassed and averted his eyes. Finland remained astonished for a moment, but then laughed as well as Sweden stood up by himself. They walked back to the house.

"Well, that was fun. I'm going to go change," said Finland, his cheeks dusted pink from the cold winds. Sweden glanced towards the kitchen.

"I'll make tea."

They went their separate ways, only to realize that their hands were still linked. Sweden's eyes widened fractionally and Finland gulped, before they relinquished their grips and fled from each other. But, unbeknownst to each other, they both were smiling as they walked away.

* * *

Estonia pulled out his special notebook from a carefully warded box under his bed. It was a detailed masterpiece, an encyclopedia of knowledge on magic and magic-users. Ever since he had been a young boy, he had loved knowledge and had sought it. The notebook held every piece of data he had ever gathered, and no one knew of its existence other than him.

He flipped it open to the page about Russia and read through it carefully.

_Russia  
Dark energy, possibly elemental.  
Has been mentally unstable since the death of his sisters._

Skipping the rest of the page, he glanced at Finland's page.

_Finland  
Ice and related elements. Healer. Rare talent with water: natural energy flow, including life energy transfer. Note: based on research, a conclusion has been reached; life energy transfer results in death of donor but revival of recipients. Energy recipients, however, may be incompletely functional.  
Also possesses amethyst necklace heirloom from his family; has protective qualities related to light.  
MODIFICATION: to escape Russia, Finland's brain has been adjusted to forget all memories of Russia. Also, neural circuits have been rewired to eliminate energy transfer abilities. Is reversible..._

Estonia sighed. His spell may have saved Finland for the time being, but the inevitable would always be unavoidable.

* * *

"Da, Belarus, Ukraine, how are you? I'm almost done with my spell. I hope to perform it soon. I would have a long time ago if Estonia hadn't helped Finland to escape. I know where he is, but it will be hard to get him back. I'm not sure what Estonia did, but I think he might have messed with Finland's brain. But it doesn't matter, I'll find out from him. So, please just wait a little longer. I promise, I'm almost done."


	7. Chapter Seven

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Seven

* * *

A loud rapping on his bedroom door startled Finland awake.

"What?" Finland said, opening the door to come face-to-face with Sweden.

"Under attack. Stay here."

Finland watched him leave after his curt words, eyes wide.

"Under attack?" he breathed, worriedly gathering his supplies. He strapped his sword and pack around his back for safety. The house shook violently as Finland felt an earthquake pierce the ground.

_Finland, Russia is here. I'm coming to find you, don't do anything__._

Gradually accustoming to the sudden thoughts bursting in his head from Iceland, Finland did as he was told and sat nervously on his bed. Iceland appeared a moment later, his platinum hair shimmering with sweat. He was panting.

"What's going on?" Finland immediately asked. He stood up. "Are we in danger?"

"More... than you could ever imagine. Norway and Denmark are fighting him right now," replied Iceland, weakly clutching his head. Finland made note of the behavior.

"Is your head hurting?"

"Too many thoughts," Iceland said wryly, shaking his head. "I'll be fine, just a little headache."

"Here, I'll help," said Finland, guiding Iceland to the bed and gathering ingredients.

A moment later, Finland rubbed a lotion that smelled faintly of mint on Iceland's temples. Iceland felt his headache dwindle.

"Thanks," he breathed, sighing as he did so. Abruptly, he punched the mattress. "Stupid Norway! Won't let me do _anything_ to help!"

"Well, if your magic is telepathy..."

"I know," Iceland said miserably, weakly punching the pillow. "I can't fight at all."

"Don't worry, telepathy is strong enough by itself," Finland said, smiling. "Besides, telepathy is usually accompanied by another mental magic. Maybe you just need to wait a while for that other magic to come up."

"I guess... I... No!"

The sound of a large explosion surged through the house as Iceland jumped up and sped out the room. Finland froze for a moment before deciding to follow him.

The main door was ajar, and Finland slipped out of the opening; the sight that greeted him was far beyond his expectations.

The snow was burning; purple flames somehow ate away at the crystals for a few seconds before fizzling into smoke. Patches of the ground had exploded. Denmark was unconscious, lying against a tree. Norway was barely standing, a green fist attempting to shield him. Sweden was feebly stirring on the ground.

And standing in front of the scene was a familiar tall man that Finland had encountered at the market.

"Russia!" Iceland yelled, face contorted with rage. Finland blinked. This was the fabled Russia?

"Iceland, your brother may need assistance..." The man smiled. Iceland ran to Norway but was suddenly propelled straight into him, sending them both hurtling into the snow.

"Finland, it's time to go home," Russia said, his eyes softening as he turned to the last standing member of the household. Finland raised his head slowly and looked the man in the eye.

Twin portals swirled before Finland's eyes, a shade of sickening violet. They were almost the same color as Finland's own eyes.

And then he was sucked into mixture, screaming as he was pulled into darkness.

Russia smiled as Finland's eyes glazed over.

"Good, now come with me," Russia said, carefully maintaining eye contact and forcing the shorter man to keep his head up. "Good, walk, walk, walk..."

Finland slowly trudged through the snow, approaching the tall man—and then a flash of light snapped him out of the trance. Russia cried out as the light pulsed into him, and Finland shook his head and jumped backwards.

"Pesky amulet," Russia hissed, no longer appearing childish. He raised a hand and a mass of black burst from it, hurtling towards Finland at a speed that would be impossible to avoid—

And light flashed into existence around Finland, creating a solid, glowing dome even as Finland braced himself for the impact that would never come. The black blob rebounded off of the shield and flew back at Russia, who dispersed the spell before it would hit him.

"Your amulet does not have infinite power," Russia said, eyes narrowing. "I just have to wait for it to lose its light."

Finland looked down at his necklace; it was glowing and emitting the light beams. He pulled it out and the barrier of light grew brighter. Russia cringed and pulled away before launching another bolt of energy at Finland. Like the previous spell, it ricocheted away and slammed into the snow.

"I will deal with you later," said Russia, turning his attention to the other barely conscious men. "They will go first."

Russia pointed with his index finger, and a current of dark energy raced down his arm until it burst from his fingertip in a sharp blast of darkness. Finland yelled, but the light suddenly morphed into a solid wall in front of his friends; the attack exploded on contact, and the light flickered out of existence.

"It's powerless," smiled Russia. "Come with me now."

"Make me!"

Russia sighed. He raised a hand and pointed it palm out towards Finland, who clutched his necklace in desperation.

And at the last second, Russia threw his hand to the side and the bolt of dark energy flew straight at the others; Finland screamed and yanked on his amulet, tearing the chain apart as he tore it from around his neck to throw with all his might at his friends.

Finland glimpsed an explosion of darkness, unable to discern if the others were alright.

And then a veil of darkness covered him, obscuring his senses and blunting his mind.

* * *

Russia swirled and materialized from a smoky wind, carting an unconscious Finland alongside him. Latvia rushed out to open the door to the ancient castle. His eyes widened and he gasped when he saw Finland.

"Sir, what—"

"Retrieve Estonia," Russia said, smoothly interrupting the boy's words.

Latvia hesitated for a moment. "Yes, sir."

The boy sprinted away, up a spiraling staircase that led to the bedrooms. Russia simply seated himself in a golden chair, gently setting Finland down on the floor.

Estonia unsteadily appeared on the staircase, his new glasses glinting in the light from a chandelier of candles.

"Estonia, look who I've brought," Russia said, indicating Finland with a smile. Estonia choked.

"What—"

"Now, you will tell me what you did."

Estonia averted his eyes immediately. Russia's grin turned sinister.

"Tell me, now. Or I will force the information out of you."

Estonia mumbled something inaudible and then fled back up the stairs; Russia, however, was much to fast. Estonia was dragged back by black tendrils of magic snaking from Russia's hand.

"Da, I guess I'll have to interrogate you, ne?" Russia said, cheerfully wrapping Estonia in the black threads, effectively binding him in the magic. "Let's begin..."

* * *

Iceland groggily lifted himself off the ground. He blearily glanced around before turning back to Norway, who was still unconscious. Iceland focused his remaining energy and attempted to contact Norway mentally.

_Norway?_ _Are you okay? Can you hear me?_

Iceland grimaced.

_Big brother?_

_...Took you long enough._

Iceland rolled his eyes. Of course Norway would respond to "big brother." Norway slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"How are the others?"

"I'll check," Iceland said, sighing as he reached for Sweden's wrist. There was a strong pulse, but the man was still unconscious. Norway reported the same condition for Denmark.

Looking around, Iceland scanned the area for Finland, even though he knew what had happened.

"How did we survive?" Norway asked, examining their destroyed surroundings.

A glint of metal caught Iceland's eye, and he quickly reached for it.

"What is this?" Iceland asked, showing it to Norway, who squinted down at it.

"Looks like some sort of amulet. Didn't Russia say something about it? Is it Finland's?"

"I guess..." Iceland pocketed the gem. "Let's get back into the house."

Norway drained the last of his energy and summoned a few trolls to carry everyone back inside. The feeling of warm air greatly soothed the brothers as the trolls set them down in the kitchen, where a couch had recently been added. Too tired to do anything, the brothers simply lied down to wait for Denmark and Sweden to regain consciousness while falling into slumber themselves...

* * *

A crackling fire woke Norway and Iceland. Denmark was hunched near the fireplace, his head almost in the flames. Sweden was slicing a loaf of bread.

"Glad to see you're awake," Denmark muttered, turning away from the fire. "Are you guys okay?"

"A healer would be nice right about now," said Norway, rubbing his arm where Iceland had been thrown into him. Everyone stopped moving.

"Yeah..." Iceland said quietly. "A healer would be nice." He pulled out Finland's necklace and stared at it. "This was Finland's. He threw it at us and saved us from Russia's magic."

There was a moment of silence.

"Iceland." Sweden was looking at him expectantly. Iceland blinked, and surrendered the gem to Sweden, who grasped it tightly in his hand.

Norway sighed as he stood up. "There is no use moping around. We are lucky we aren't dead; Finland's necklace saved us, at least. We need to recover and regain strength."

"To do what?" Denmark said. "Rescue Finland? Defeat Russia?"

"Norway's right," Iceland said. He stumbled to the table and collapsed in a chair, grabbing a slice of bread as he did so.

Denmark snorted and sat down at the end of the table. "Sure."

"What does that mean?" asked Sweden, quietly but filled with menace. "Do you want to leave Finland?"

Denmark toasted a slice of bread with his palm. "Well, what are we supposed to do?"

The silence was only filled by the crackling of the fire and the crunches of Denmark's toast.

"Save him." Sweden's reply was succinct.

"How do you expect to do that?" asked Denmark, looking at him incredulously. "There's no way!"

"Find a way."

"I don't want anyone else getting hurt. Finland is bad enough, yes, but if we leave him with Russia, no one else will get injured, okay?"

Denmark and Sweden were now glaring at each other; Norway saw both of their hands twitch towards their weapons that lied nearby.

"Calm down, both of you," said Norway, dully interfering before the situation would become worse. "There are two sides to every argument; this is no exception. You are both right."

"Well, which side do you take?" asked Denmark, immediately turning on Norway. The pale blond shrugged noncommittally and spread some fruit preserves on his bread.

"I think we should at least try to save Finland," Iceland said, following his brother's example and spooning jam onto his bread. "He's our friend, after all."

"Whatever," Denmark said, turning away and ignoring the other three throughout the rest of their subdued dinner.

Sweden was the first to stand up. "Going to bed."

Norway pulled Iceland up and herded him out of the room next. Denmark was the last one left in the kitchen. He lethargically twirled his fingers; the fire danced in response. Finally, he set his hand down on the table. The fire dwindled under an invisible force and was smothered.

Denmark stood up and left the room.

* * *

Estonia was flung against the ceiling, before he was pulled back to the floor. His glasses had long since shattered and it was only by sheer luck that the glass had not scraped Estonia as it burst into shards.

"Tell me!"

Another toss.

"Tell me!"

Pummeled into the floor.

"Tell me, NOW!"

Thrown into the wall.

"Tell me—"

"Fine!" Estonia screamed, tears streaming down his bruised face. "I'll tell you, just stop!"

Russia immediately released Estonia from his spell; the dark tendrils receded and left Estonia, bruised and battered, lying against the wall.

"Well?" asked Russia expectantly.

Estonia panted as he struggled to form words. "Neural... circuit rewiring."

Russia rolled his eyes. "I knew _that. _Tell me how to reverse it."

"Only I can."

"Then do it."

"I need my books."

"Easy enough."

A portal opened in the ceiling and a few tomes dropped from the vortex, landing in a pile in front of Estonia.

"This... will take a while, sir," Estonia said, riffling through a book slowly. Russia nodded.

"Take all the time you need."

Russia raised his hand, and the unconscious Finland was pulled down into the shadows with Estonia, pulled down into the magical depths of the ancient castle; and when they were finally set in a small room filled with all sorts of magical items, Estonia broke down.

Pulling out one book from the pile, he found the reversal spell.

He began to prepare it, tears tracing down his cheek and dropping on the pages, leaving splotches of wetness on the paper.

* * *

Iceland fell backwards onto his bed. His blue sheets and blanket crumpled as he wrapped them around himself. He took a deep breath and then attempted to contact Finland mentally.

_Finland?_

With no idea as to where Finland was, he simply hoped that Finland would pick up his thoughts. His mind raced along with his thoughts, scanning through areas to hopefully encounter Finland. And then his thought slammed into a barrier that surrounded a large castle that could only belong to Russia.

Iceland's eyes snapped open. "His castle is protected against magical infiltration," he realized. "This isn't good."

_Norway, Sweden!_ Iceland avoided Denmark, feeling that the leader of their small group would be against any plans to rescue Finland.

_What?_ Norway was the first to respond.

_Russia's castle is magically protected. I can't get past the barrier with my thoughts._

_Are you trying to contact Finland?_ Norway's thoughts were anxious; they expressed more emotion than his voice did.

_Yes._

_Bad idea._ Sweden's thoughts appeared in the mental conversation. _What if you get caught?_

_Well, then I'm doomed._

_It's not funny, Iceland_, snapped Norway. _If you get caught, how do we save you? Your mind will be separated from your body, and you know how hard that is to reverse._

_I just thought you guys might want to know..._

_We appreciate the knowledge, but be more careful_, chastised Norway. _I wouldn't want to lose my little brother._

_SHUT UP!_

_Calm down,_ thought Sweden before the brothers would exhaust themselves simply by mentally arguing. _Iceland, it's good to know. We'll talk more tomorrow. Right now, we all need sleep._

Iceland forgot that Sweden was much more fluent in thoughts than in speech. It had been so long since they had had a mental conversation.

_Fine. Good night._

Iceland broke his thoughts off there and turned, trying to get more comfortable.

Norway stared up at the ceiling, feeling his eyelids droop slowly as his levitating hair curl snuggled into the pillow.

Denmark was lying face-down in his bed, mumbling incoherently as he fell asleep.

Sweden pulled out Finland's amulet that he had received from Iceland at dinner. He set it on the table; it was the object of his attention throughout the entire night. The glinting amethyst haunted Sweden, imprinting an image of Finland into his mind as he closed his eyes.

And far away, in a distant castle, Finland woke up and yelled, startling Estonia so much that the man spilled his ingredients over his shirt as his friend woke up, bound by shadows, on the floor.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Eight

* * *

"Who are you?" Finland yelled, struggling impulsively. "Let me go! Release me!"

Estonia gulped and closed his eyes, concentrating on a spell that would cause Finland's brain to release sleep-inducing chemicals. Soon enough, Finland's voice quieted and he was sleeping on the floor again. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Estonia drew a diagram around Finland on the floor.

The spell to bring back Finland's memories was easy enough, so Estonia had started with that. Rewiring Finland's nerves together to create the energy-transfer power again would be the second step, and Estonia planned on stalling that spell as long as possible.

Estonia hoped that Finland would calm down once his memories were restored. Russia would remain peaceful until Finland was able to transfer his life energy, at least, which bought Estonia plenty of time.

After setting one last pile of powdered white lilac petals directly above Finland's head, Estonia sat down behind the pile and placed his middle fingers on Finland's temples. He breathed deeply and exhaled onto the powdered petals, which fluttered into the air and descended upon Finland's forehead. With every breath Estonia took, the powder changed shapes and formed symbols, weaving through the wording of a spell on Finland. Every symbol caused the powder to glow brighter and brighter, and the power sank into Finland's mind, probing through his thoughts and memories.

Estonia quickly located the memories that he had hidden from Finland's mind months ago. The original memory-blocking spell had been relatively simple, requiring the cluster of neurons that held memories about Russia only to be segregated from the rest of Finland's brain. Now, Estonia carefully connected the strands and cells back together, allowing electrical impulses to run along their lengths as he reintegrated the memories into Finland's brain.

The spell was finished. Estonia stood up shakily and sat back down on a stiff, wooden chair. On the table next to him, a book was propped open to the spell that was needed to restore Finland's powers. Estonia tiredly glanced at the pages.

Finland was stirring already. As if Russia knew what had happened, the bonds surrounding Finland's body disappeared, melting back into the dark corners of the room. Finland moaned and sat up, rubbing his head. Estonia worriedly crouched in front of him.

Eyes flickering open, Finland squinted at the other man. "Estonia? Is that you? What happened?"

Estonia sighed in relief. The spell had run smoothly. "I restored your memories, Finland."

Finland gasped. "What?"

"You were caught. Russia brought you back and he's making me restore everything about you," Estonia said, shamefacedly turning away. "I'm sorry."

"You promised!" Finland said, looking furious. "You promised when you took away my memories of this _awful_ place that you would never bring them back! What happened?"

"He tortured me, Finland!" cried Estonia, rolling his sleeves up. "Look!"

Sure enough, Estonia's arms were covered in splotchy bruises. "These aren't the worst of them," Estonia said bitterly when Finland pulled back, looking nauseated.

"I... I'm sorry, Estonia," Finland said, lifting the other man's arm in his. "Let's get this healed."

They moved to the table; Finland pulled a stream of water from his bag and engulfed Estonia's arms in it. Estonia smiled sadly as his injuries began to fade.

"Where did you go after you escaped?" asked Estonia. "I saw you in the market the other day."

"After I escaped..." Finland bit his lip, trying to recall the past few months. "Oh... I was found and brought into another household. I met some people."

"Who? What else happened?"

Finland hesitated, but revealed his life for the past few months to his best fried. "Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden. I found Denmark destroying the snow..."

By the end of Finland's story, Estonia's arms were healed. The man with glasses pulled his sleeves back down and turned to Finland.

"Russia has been searching for you ever since you escaped. He still wants to go through with his plan."

Finland looked away. "Now that I can remember what he wanted in the first place, I think I might just have to escape again."

"You won't be able to this time," Estonia sighed, running a hand through his hair. "He's barricaded this place with wards. Latvia and Lithuania are scared to death, so they'll do everything they can to stop us."

"Let me remember," said Finland, biting his lip, "Latvia can physically manifest emotions, right? And Lithuania... he's really good at chess? And strategies?"

"You're right about Latvia, and Lithuania is the animator," replied Estonia.

"Ah, yes," Finland said, snapping his fingers. "Bringing inanimate objects to life. I remember his living chess pieces..."

"When they got out of their case, right?" chuckled Estonia. "That was a headache."

"Yeah, and then I found a bishop drowning in my cup — "

The door slammed open. Estonia jumped and cowered as another man slid gracefully down the stairs. Finland cautiously turned to face the threat.

It was Russia. "Estonia, are you finished yet?"

"Finland has his memories restored, sir," Estonia whispered, bowing on the floor. Russia's eyes narrowed.

"What about his powers?"

"That will take longer, sir."

Russia shrugged and turned to Finland. "Da, Finland, you must be tired. I suspect you're hungry too?"

Finland shot him a glare. "I'd like to go home, Mister Russia."

Russia giggled childishly. "Well, that won't happen, will it?"

"Why not?" challenged Finland.

"I need you. You will assist me," Russia said simply. "This will be your room. I'll send down food. Feel free to roam the house."

With a wave of his hand, Russia conjured a large bed in the corner of the room and left, ascending the staircase. He paused before the door.

"Estonia, I expect that reversal spell to be coming along soon."

The door closed with a solid thump.

Estonia shakily rose to his feet and sat in the chair again.

"Are you just going to take that?" asked Finland furiously, sitting across from Estonia. "All you are to him is just a tool!"

"There's nothing I can do," Estonia mumbled. "I have to restore your powers."

The door opened again. Latvia's slipped into the room nervously, clutching a tray filled with so much food that it was no wonder that his arms were shaking. Finland quickly took the tray from the boy before hugging him.

"It's nice to see you again, Latvia," Finland said, ruffling the boy's hair. "Have you gotten taller?"

"Two inches," whispered the boy, smiling awkwardly at Finland. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

"I'm fine. How are your powers?"

"I've got more control..."

"So you won't blow up Russia's closet again?" teased Finland. Latvia blushed.

"That was an accident!"

"Sure, sure," laughed Finland, ruffling Latvia's hair one more time. Latvia bowed low and stumbled up the stairs.

"I see you still get along with kids just fine," mused Estonia. "And your memories are coming back alright?"

"I suppose," Finland sighed, poking at a slice of white meat on the platter. "You should eat too."

Estonia shook his head. "I'll probably get speared if I touched your food."

"Well, I give you permission. Eat as much as you like," Finland said, pushing the tray towards his friend. "I couldn't eat all this even if I wanted too, anyways."

"Hmm. You know, Finland," said Estonia, deftly pouring sauce onto a slice of chicken, "it's good to have you back."

"It's... not exactly good to be back."

Estonia sighed. "I know."

* * *

"I forbid you."

Sweden glared at Denmark. "Why?"

"You cannot even _think_ of a plan to get Finland back. It won't work. So give up, leave them alone to whatever they want to do."

Iceland and Norway sat back and watched the argument.

"Don't care. We'll get him back."

"No, if _you_ want to get him back, _you'll _get him back. By yourself. Let's see how well that goes," Denmark said, standing up with an air of finality.

Denmark left, followed by Norway and Iceland. Sweden remained in the kitchen, staring hard at the fire, until he too stood up.

He searched the pantry and grabbed a few items of food before returning to his bedroom. Grabbing a bag, he hastily shoved the food inside and grabbed a few other items. Sweden's hand strayed over Finland's amethyst necklace, about to place it in his bag as well. He had repaired the chain days ago, and it was in its original condition.

Sweden hesitated, and finally clipped the amethyst teardrop around his own neck, tucking it beneath his blue coat. His large sword was clipped around his back and his packed bag was slid over the weapon and around his shoulders.

Sweden stealthily slipped out the front door and soon disappeared into the woods.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Nine

* * *

Estonia had left the room already, leaving Finland to himself in the basement. With nothing else to do, Finland slipped onto the bed and slowly unraveled his bags, setting his white pack on the floor. The amethyst sword from Sweden was next; Finland simply laid it in his hands, comforting in the small fact that he had at least _something_ from the outer world.

Relishing in the small hope the sword brought, Finland smiled sadly and wished to reunite with Sweden. But for now, the sword was set aside as well. Finland fell backwards, the soft bed cushioning his fall. He closed his eyes.

There was nothing left to do but wait for tomorrow.

* * *

_Iceland._

Jerking awake, the pale-haired magic-user started as a deep voice echoed in his head.

_Who's — Sweden, is that you?_ asked Iceland, groggily thinking at the other man.

_Yes._

_What do you want? It's late, and I want to go to sleep._

_Where is Russia's castle? You must know where you directed your thoughts towards._

_Yeah, somewhere east of here. A bit south. Why?_

The connection was severed by Sweden. Iceland blinked, bewildered, before shrugging and sliding back underneath his warm blankets.

Sweden, on the other hand, was most definitely _not_ warm; hunched beneath a tree and huddled in his sleeping bag, the warrior grimly realized that he was unprepared. The snow on the branches of the tree cascaded down in clumps whenever the wind shook the branches, and the air was dry and cold. Feeling helpless but determined, Sweden simply yanked the sleeping bag covers over his face in a futile effort to block out the cold.

When Iceland woke up again, it was not by the pleasant songs of morning birds, nor by the occasional gentle shaking of his brother. Rather, a loud scream reverberated through the house to shake Iceland out of his stupor and onto his feet as he rushed to see Denmark gazing into Sweden's room.

"WHERE IS HE?" screamed Denmark, throwing his arms up in pure rage, slamming the door shut on the bedroom. _"WHERE IS HE?!"_

"Calm down," Norway said, placing a calming hand on Denmark's shoulder. "He's gone."

Iceland suddenly recalled his short talk with Sweden in the middle of the night and realized, dread filling his mind, that Sweden had indeed left—to find Russia.

"He's going after Finland!" Iceland called as he ran back to his own room to hastily grab supplies. He practically leaped out of the bedroom, but Denmark grabbed his arm before he could streak away.

"What do you mean?" growled Denmark. "He actually went? When I forbade him?"

"You did tell him to go by himself," Norway said, walking by and slapping Denmark's hand off of Iceland's arm. "And now we have to go find him."

"What? Are you kidding—"

Norway fixed Denmark with a cold glare that squashed Denmark's inner righteous flame.

"But—"

Norway raised a single eyebrow. Denmark quailed and ran for his room; Norway did the same, telling Iceland to wait by the door.

Soon enough, the three remaining members of the household were tramping through the snow as well. Iceland was trying his best to contact Sweden, and Denmark was fuming so much that the snow melted as he walked by. Norway simply strolled along, wondering if the sun was going to come out or not.

* * *

With no directions besides the general idea of "east," Sweden was understandably lost. Even so, his years of solitude before Denmark had found him were filled with all sorts of knowledge. All he needed to do was travel east and scour the area; considering he was looking for a castle, he figured that he would be able to see the walls from a far enough distance. Unless, of course, it was magically hidden.

That was one thing that Sweden was rather aggravated with. His lack of magical abilities made every task harder, especially when he faced a magic-user. The fights with Russia proved the point. And without magic, how was he supposed to rescue Finland? How would he protect the younger man?

And why was he so concerned for the shorter man in the first place?

Since he had first glimpsed Finland, the night when he had woken up briefly from his bout of unconsciousness, he knew immediately that he would never leave the shorter man. Norway had scolded him for his emotions. But a warrior was only supposed to feel one emotion: loyalty.

Sweden was sure that the feeling bubbling inside his chest was nothing remotely near the feeling of loyalty.

* * *

"Finland... how are you feeling?" asked Estonia, closing the door behind him as he addressed the other man. Finland shrugged and pulled out his sword. Deciding that it was dull, he started to sharpen the weapon.

"Where did you get that from?" said Estonia, eyeing the device with a knowledgeable gaze. "It looks sturdy."

"Sweden," replied Finland. "It's a beautiful sword, and I'm kind of reluctant to use it."

Estonia shook his head and smiled. His demeanor soon changed; Finland could almost feel the atmosphere of the room turn gray.

"Finland, listen," began Estonia. "You know how Russia's sisters died, right?"

"That avalanche," said Finland dully. He was trying to avoid thinking about what was inevitably going to happen. "What about it?"

"Well, he has two sisters."

"So?"

"How many of you are there?"

"One—oh, no."

"Exactly. You were in such a panic the first time when you ran away that you never thought about it. But I did when I was changing your brain. Russia might be able to force you to transfer your life energy once I restore your powers, but you'll only be able to bring one of his sisters back to life. If you try to revive both of them, who knows what will happen? I suspect that they'll still both be dead. Either that, or they turn into half-sentient beings who roam around like cows."

For a few minutes, the only sound in the room was the scrape of the sword against the whetstone.

"I have to tell him, don't I?" asked Finland. Estonia nodded regretfully.

"I'm afraid if any of us tells him, we'll end up dead on the kitchen floor."

"Why the kitchen?" Finland smiled wryly, but there was no joy in the expression.

"Or anywhere. You know, bathroom, bedroom, living room."

Finland heaved a heavy sigh, breaking their attempts at lightening the situation. "When should I tell him?"

"The sooner the better. He'll have more time to accustom himself to the idea of only having one sister revived."

"You say that like you expect me to go through with his plan," Finland said, anger flashing in his eyes. "I don't exactly plan on doing so."

"Finland, we've already talked about this," said Estonia, pinching his nose. "None of us can defeat Russia!"

"How about all of us and all of my friends as well?"

"They lost when they fought him, we lost when we fought him—that was how we got captured. How do you expect that we'll just magically combine and beat him?"

"Strength in numbers?"

"Finland, he destroyed all of us without breaking a sweat. And your amulet—"

The word blasted memories through Finland's brain that had not previously resurfaced. Finland blinked.

"That was a family heirloom. And it was magic. It stored light for future use," Finland said, spitting out the words as the memories flooded back.

"Yes. But you don't have it anymore."

"Oh, I hope they picked it up," Finland said anxiously. "I threw it towards the others when Russia attacked them," he explained further at Estonia's questioning look. He examined his sword again before sheathing it, deciding that it was sharp enough. "But I'm telling you, if we can get Latvia and Lithuania on our side, we can beat Russia if we meet up with my friends."

"It's impossible," Estonia flatly stated. "Don't even think about it."

"Why are you so negative?" asked Finland, annoyed at the man's attitude. "Would it kill you to be optimistic?"

And Finland stormed upstairs, leaving a confused and ashamed Estonia to sit on the bed, contemplating his thoughts.

* * *

"Why are we all here?" asked Finland, seating himself at a long table in the elegant dining room of the castle. It was dinnertime, and Russia had called everyone in the house to meet in the room.

Russia smiled. "Why, I merely wished to have everyone meet again to talk! You may enjoy yourselves. I will be in my study."

The tall man left, leaving his servants and Finland behind at the table that was covered with luscious food. Pristine plates gleamed in front of everyone, and the uncomfortable silence was soon broken after Russia's uncomfortable atmosphere dissipated.

"So, Finland, how have you been?" asked Lithuania, meekly smiling. "I'm very glad to see that you are alright."

"I'm fine," Finland replied, sipping cold water from his glass. "You?"

"Alright... but it's been very depressing here since you disappeared. Russia has been getting worse and worse since..." Lithuania hesitated for a moment, "since Belarus and Ukraine died."

Estonia's eyes widened minutely and Finland immediately snatched the words.

"Everyone... what if we were to rebel?"


	10. Chapter Ten

**Healed by the Cold**

Author's Note: Thanks to **Karalora** for pointing out the moon mistake! I wasn't really thinking about it, but it's fixed now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Ten

* * *

"Everyone... what if we were to rebel?"

The effect was immediate. Latvia promptly fell out of his chair and Lithuania cringed so much that he almost slipped under the table. Estonia simply looked embarrassed.

"What is it with you guys?" asked Finland, annoyed with their reactions. "Why are you so afraid?"

Latvia slowly stood up. "Well... Mr. Finland... he's much too powerful..."

"We can defeat him if we all work together."

"Unlikely," said Lithuania, shivering as he recalled a past fight. "I used to hang around with this guy named Poland. We were pretty strong together, but Russia took us down in an instant. And then he dragged me back here..."

"There's four of us," Finland said, "and there are four others outside of here that would probably help us! All we need to do is organize the rebellion!"

Estonia sighed. "Finland, it's a lot harder to actually do it than it is to say."

Finland glared at him. "Then all of you go downstairs to my room after you're done eating. We'll discuss there. In the meantime, I have to talk with Russia."

"But Finland!" Estonia said, looking alarmed. "Is it really wise to tell him right now?"

"Yes. He'll be distracted and he won't come looking for us. And he'll hopefully be so conflicted that he won't even think about us for a few weeks."

"Tell him what?" asked Lithuania, looking between the other two.

"If, in the end, everything we try to do fails and I have to revive his sisters," said Finland, "I can only revive one."

Lithuania winced. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Finland sighed as he remembered Lithuania's attachment to Russia's younger sister. "I know you liked Belarus, but it all comes down to Russia's decision, and, if my memories aren't faulty, he's probably going to choose Ukraine."

Finland pushed himself away from the table and stood up from the chair. "I'll see you all later in my room."

The remaining three servants watched him leave before turning back to each other and murmuring hurriedly.

In the meantime, Finland was knocking on Russia's study. The doors themselves were taller than Finland, and the room was practically a house in itself. An echoed, "Come in," reverberated through the door.

Finland pushed the door open, allowing it to fall shut behind him. "Russia."

"Finland." The tall man smiled and gestured for Finland to sit.

"No thanks. I'm here to tell you something."

"And that would be?" prompted Russia, setting his chin on his intertwined hands.

Finland took a deep breath. "I am only one person, and I do not possess infinite power."

"Go on."

"And if you want me to revive your sisters... I can only restore one to life."

Finland's eyes were closed; he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Are you sure?" Russia's voice was urgent, almost pleading.

"Yes."

There was silence for a moment. And then, "I refuse to accept this."

Sensing imminent danger, Finland slowly stepped backwards as Russia began to lose control.

"It is the truth."

The door was slipped open by a crack; the hinges thankfully emitted no sound.

"No. You... you must find a way! You _must_ restore them both! You must!"

"It is beyond my power," Finland said, preparing to run.

Russia's rage and terror exploded. "NO! FIND A WAY! YOU MUST REVIVE THEM BOTH! YOU MUST!"

Dark electricity surrounded the tall man in his enraged state as he clawed at the desk in front of him, screaming. Finland quickly pulled the door shut behind him, a bolt of energy just missing him as it flew haphazardly away from the mass of power around Russia, and sprinted down the hallway and down the stairs towards his room. But, even as he ran, he heard the clear sounds of someone crying.

* * *

_Sweden!_

The warrior blinked. Iceland was contacting him. Denmark must have discovered his absence. They were, no doubt, trying to reel him back and stop him from saving Finland.

Impulsively, he snapped the connection between his mind and Iceland's.

Sweden continued to trek through the snow.

* * *

"That idiot!" said Iceland, slapping his forehead in exasperation. "He cut me off!"

"Then hack his brain," Denmark said, glaring at a small rock as he passed by. "He doesn't have magic."

"I can try," Iceland said, "but I'll be really tired afterwards."

"Just do it," snapped Denmark. "I'll carry you if you faint."

"No," said Norway smoothly, "I will."

Iceland grimaced and focused his energy on the mind link. He scrunched his nose as he slowly chipped through Sweden's defenses, which, Iceland realized, were sturdy even though he could not use magic. The inconvenience only annoying him further, Iceland continued his task.

* * *

The sound of shattering glass was clearly heard even from Finland's room in the basement. It had been over an hour from when Finland had informed Russia of the dilemma, but the tall man was still releasing bursts of energy. The three servants jumped every time a sound came from upstairs.

A plan had been made in the meantime. The four magic-users sat in Finland's room, talking quietly.

"Finland... you do know exactly how many things can go wrong with this plan of yours, right?" asked Estonia nervously. He was fidgeting with his glasses.

"Yes. We've got nothing else to go by, though," said Finland. "Latvia, Lithuania, are you going to help or not."

The two were visibly shaking. Latvia spoke first, although his voice was so quiet that almost nobody heard him.

"Yes."

"I will too," said Lithuania, following Latvia's consent. "We can try."

"I just hope that Sweden gets here soon," sighed Finland, worriedly rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But we don't actually need them if our plan works."

"When should we do it?" asked Estonia. While he was conflicted about rebelling against Russia, Estonia knew that it was for the best. Getting away from Russia was almost always on Estonia's mind, but he was greatly afraid of the powerful dark-magic-user.

"Is there anything happening in the next few days?" asked Finland. Estonia pulled out an archive of events and flipped to the current date.

"It looks like there's nothing much for a few days," said Estonia. "Let me look a bit further..."

The other three magic-users waited in tense silence as Estonia skimmed the book. He looked up.

"We are either extremely lucky or extremely unlucky."

"Why?" chorused the other three.

"There's a lunar eclipse in a week."

"A lunar eclipse—!" said Finland.

"What's special about a lunar eclipse?" asked Latvia, eyes flickering back and forth between Estonia and the astonished Finland.

"A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is in syzygy with our planet and the sun," explained Estonia. "It seems that the moon has some effect on Russia's powers. There was another eclipse many years ago, and I remember that Russia shut himself in his room."

"And then the shields around the castle fell," said Lithuania, looking appalled. "I remember that too."

"And we were too scared to run," said Estonia bitterly. "Latvia, you weren't even born yet."

"Then it's settled," said Finland. "When the lunar eclipse occurs, we rebel."

"But we have to work fast," said Estonia. "His powers only fail when the three celestial bodies are in true alignment, which could last anywhere from ten minutes to only thirty seconds."

"We'll deal with it," said Finland. "But right now, we all just need to get rest."

Finland led the other three out of the basement; they quietly slipped down a hallway to get back to their rooms.

The door shut resolutely behind Finland as he slowly sank into his bed.

The future held many possibilities.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

Chapter Eleven

* * *

The moon morphed through its phases slower than Finland believed possible. Every night, he stared anxiously out a window up at the white shape floating in the sky, its ethereal presence gracing the castle with light. He then realized how strange it was to even be seeing the moon clearly through the normally thick coating of clouds, but took the sign as a good omen. Even though the the days and nights passed by slowly, the lunar eclipse approached steadily.

Finland sat in his room, where he usually was. A soft knock alerted him to someone's presence outside his door. He called out to the person and quickly stood up warily as Russia stepped down the stairs, his usual childish expression no longer apparent on his face.

"Have your powers been restored?"

Finland's eyes widened. He had forgotten, and so had Estonia, to restore his own powers. Exhaling, Finland replied with a definitive, "No."

"Tell Estonia to get it done," said Russia, turning away at Finland's answer. "I will inform you of your task when your powers are returned."

The tall man moved up the stairs dully; Finland followed him and quickly ran upstairs to Estonia's room. Estonia looked from his books as Finland span and slammed the door shut.

"Yes?" questioned Estonia.

"Russia wants you to restore my powers. I think he's already decided who he wants restored," said Finland. Estonia took a sharp breath.

"But the eclipse is tomorrow!" Estonia yelped. "I can restore your powers by tomorrow morning, but the eclipse is at night! If your powers aren't back, he'll know something's up!"

Finland bit his lip. "Just do it. We'll figure out what to do. I'll tell Latvia and Lithuania to be ready."

Estonia slowly reached under his bed and pulled out a dusty tome detailing the essentials of the human brain. A piece of paper had long since marked the reversal spell, and Estonia shakily flipped to the page, quickly skimming through the spell that he already knew too well.

Latvia and Lithuania both nearly screamed when Finland informed them of their situation. Finland quickly hushed them and told them it would be fine before slipping back to Estonia's room.

"Well?" prompted Finland, looking worried. Estonia was putting various items into a bag.

"My room isn't big enough. We'll have to go to yours."

Once in the basement, Estonia began to paint a circle on the floor in black ink. Other symbols filled the shape in, and Finland was soon lying down with his head in the center of the circle. Taking a thin brush, Estonia drew a few symbols onto Finland's forehead as well.

"Stay like this, I need to isolate the nerves in your brain and remove the barrier surrounding them," said Estonia. "I'll be able to re-link everything tomorrow once your brain has adapted to the presence of the new powers in your conscious stream of thought."

Finland allowed his eyelids to flicker shut as Estonia began the spell. A tight constriction squeezed his brain and Finland winced, but it was over a moment later. Estonia set his index and middle fingers on the symbol on Finland's forehead, pressing lightly, before pulling his hand up in a sweeping motion that drew the now glowing ink away from Finland's skin.

"It's done," Estonia said quietly, scrubbing his hands free of the black ink. The nerve cluster that had been the center of Finland's energy powers had been freed from the magical coating that had encased them. "Now we just wait until tomorrow."

Finland sat up, rubbing his temples. His eyes swept over his room in a habitual motion. "Now we wait."

* * *

Sweden squinted. He was getting a headache.

For the past few days, a constant nagging feeling had appeared in his mind, and he had uselessly scratched the back of his head when the itchy sensation dug into his brain. Now, however, it was developing into pain, and Sweden was wincing somewhat as he walked.

There was still no sign of Russia's castle.

* * *

"Auraiya, lead the rest of them in search for Sweden. He should be going east, in the same direction we are traveling."

Norway was addressing one of his fairies. She flitted around quickly as Norway explained the situation. A group of sprites hovered behind her, their wings creating a soft buzz in the air. After Norway had finished talking, the leader, Auraiya, nodded and zoomed away with her troupe, sparkling light cascading behind their wings as they flew.

"Iceland, why aren't you through Sweden's mind yet?" demanded Denmark, still in a foul mood. They had been walking pointlessly for quite a few days, and he was extremely annoyed.

"I told you, he's really strong!" snapped Iceland, who was beginning to feel irritated with Denmark's crabbiness. "I don't know why, but I can't get past his barriers! It'll take me a day more at most, okay? So calm down!"

"Both of you should do that," observed Norway, sending off three trolls into the distance as well. Their invisible forms flickered in the air. "I'm confused as to how far Russia's castle is."

"Thoughts travel faster than people," said Iceland. "However long it took my thought to get to the castle, it'll take at least ten thousand times longer in person."

"Will it really be that long?" asked Denmark, sullenly flicking a small dart of flame at an icicle dangling from a branch.

"Yes."

Iceland's curt reply only further increased the tension in the group. The three continued on.

* * *

It was nighttime. The moon was nearly full, with only the smallest sliver of it still invisible in the darkness of the black sky.

* * *

"The lunar eclipse is tonight," muttered Finland, gripping his hands together nervously. "Only a few more hours."

Estonia peered into the room. "Finland? I'm here to finish restoring your powers..."

Sighing, Finland re-positioned himself in the circle that Estonia had drawn the previous day. Estonia quickly added a few more symbols before rubbing a faintly scented oil on his fingers and placing his palms on Finland's temples.

Finland's eyes bolted open as he felt power—Estonia or his own?—racing through his mind, plucking at different areas and lining up others, reassembling what had been only days ago a useless cluster of nerves, magical energy coursing through his body as the powers pulsed in his brain—

He gasped loudly and sat up; Estonia had fallen backwards onto his hands as well, panting.

"There," said Estonia, spitting out words between breaths. "It's... done."

Finland could feel his entire body tingle. Magical energy sparkled inside of him now, different from anything he had ever imagined, and the memories—the _memories_—flooded back and re-assimilated into his brain, and he learned again what he once knew as the hidden knowledge was connected back into his mind and—

"You must be feeling overwhelmed right now," said Estonia, recovered from his exertions. "Bringing back a power as complex as energy transfer can be startling."

"I agree," said Finland, shakily standing. "But I think I know how to do it now."

"Well... what will you do?"

It was the question that had nagged Finland's mind for the past twenty-four hours. "I guess... if he calls me... I'll just have to stall. There's no other way."

"Until tonight," said Estonia.

"Until tonight," agreed Finland, nodding. "But we have to survive twelve more hours until the lunar eclipse is in full power. I don't know what I'm going to do..."

"Well, we'll figure out something," sighed Estonia.

* * *

"I'm through," said Iceland suddenly, breaking the depressing silence that had engulfed their trio. Denmark immediately whipped his head up and ordered Iceland to connect him to the conversation as well; Norway joined in too.

_Sweden!_

The simultaneous call of three voices after a sharp crack of pain in his head startled Sweden immensely.

_Iceland?_ he thought questioningly; an accusatory tone entered his thoughts. _What did you do?__  
_

_I broke through your mental walls,_ replied the telepathic man wryly. _You could make it a bit easier, you know._

_Then what's the point of having walls?_ asked Sweden, bluntly countering Iceland's complaint. _What do you want? I don't care what you say, Denmark, I'm going after Finland._

_Oh, no you didn't—_

_We're coming to help you, Sweden. _Norway cut Denmark's blathering off as fast as possible. _Tell us where you are, and we'll come help you. My fairies are looking for you right now, actually._

_That would explain why I see a horde of glitter flying towards me,_ observed Sweden, distracted as the "horde" zoomed towards his head.

_They are not a horde,_ thought Norway heatedly. _Well, they'll get back to me and lead us to you. Don't move, stay where you are. Okay?_

Sweden complied with Norway's request, albeit slightly suspiciously. Denmark, Norway, and Iceland sat down to take a break, with nothing else left to do but wait for Norway's fairies to return. Sweden ushered the flying sprites on their way back to their master and slowly sank to the ground, clearing the snow off of a small part of the earth.

They waited.

* * *

They waited.

They—Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—were discussing their plan quietly over a hasty lunch. Finland was surprised that Russia had not called for him yet and was apprehensively listening for the call of his name that he knew would eventually come. The other three were just as nervous, hoping that the call would never come and that their plan would magically flow along smoothly.

But nothing good ever came out of waiting.

It was nearly four hours after their lunch when Finland was called by Russia.

Filled with dread, he knocked on the door to Russia's study. Half-expecting a vase to be thrown at his head as he entered, Finland slowly slipped in and glared at the tall man who was sitting calmly at his desk.

"Please, Finland, do sit down," said Russia, the firelight glinting off of his hair as he gestured to a cushioned chair. "I would like to discuss something with you."

"What?" asked Finland, taking a seat and eyeing Russia confusedly. "What about—"

"We can deal with that later," interrupted Russia. "But first... I'd like to let you know why I want my sisters back so much."

Finland blinked. The man had said it with no fake emotion, no childish cruelty, no... nothing. It was soft and sad. "What?"

"You will be the one to die for—for _one_ of my sisters, and I believe that you deserve to know why you are dying."

"I know why," said Finland, verbally agreeing with Russia's words even as he mentally challenged them. "You loved your sisters."

Russia winced—Finland blinked again in surprise—at the word "loved."_  
_

"Yes, I did," he uttered softly, caressing a sheet of paper on his mahogany desk. "And I would like to love them in the present too. But I can only love one. Again, you are dying for one of them, so you deserve to know why you must die."

Finland nodded, consenting to at least listen to Russia's words. If anything, it would waste more time.

"You knew Belarus and Ukraine. Bela was younger than me, and Ukraine was older. You never liked Belarus... You called her obsessive once, and I have to agree with you... You liked Ukraine much more..."

Finland recalled Belarus' strange desire to marry Russia. Once, he had opened Russia's bathroom door to clean and found her standing in the bathtub and staring straight at the door, her dress fluttering around her ankles in an unfelt and unseen wind (the talent seemed to run in the family). Ukraine was much more normal, although her chest was somewhat... obnoxious, Finland decided. But, she was a lovely person and would often play with Finland.

"But then, on that day," said Russia, interrupting Finland's musings, "they were lost."

Finland nodded. "The avalanche."

"No one knew. No one expected."

"The mountains are treacherous," said Finland. The mountains were a series of tall cones in the distance, easily reachable by foot after a journey of a few days. Ukraine and Belarus had gone to the mountains to pick herbs when the avalanche had suddenly cascaded upon them.

"And it is all my fault," said Russia. His eyes were filled with tears.

"How is it your fault?" asked Finland. Surprisingly, his feelings of disgust for Russia were fading. "You didn't cause the avalanche."

"The only reason they went to pick herbs was because I was dying."

Finland's eyes widened. The memory flashed into existence. "That... that was why they went?"

"Yes."

"But... how are you still alive now then?" asked Finland confusedly. Russia looked at him sadly.

"Your memory still is slightly damaged. _You_ were the one that healed me, Finland. You waited for Ukraine and Belarus to come back, but they never did. And then that was when your healing abilities activated, when you tried to heal me."

"And then... after you were healed... you went to the mountains and found them."

"In the snow. It took me two hours to clear the ice away. And they were underneath it. Frozen. Dead. And it was all my fault."

"No, it wasn't!" insisted Finland. "Please, Russia, don't think that!"

"I don't want to any more," whispered Russia. "And that is why you are going to die. Because I need to relieve this feeling. Because I need to see them alive and well and say that I did not cause them to die."

Russia stood up and gently pushed Finland out of the room.

"But," said Finland, turning around before the door was shut, "you cannot even say that."

Russia paused, on the other side of the wooden barrier. Only one of his sisters could be revived.

One.

Not them.

Her.

"I know."


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Twelve

* * *

_"Russia!"_

_Ukraine's cheerful voice bounced around the tall man's bedroom._

_"I made you some lovely fruit tarts!"_

_Belarus followed Ukraine, holding a basket of fresh fruits. A large white bow sat securely in her hair._

_"I picked some berries for you, dear brother," she said, smiling sincerely. Russia could only nod weakly in thanks in his current, pitiful state._

_"Russia, I promise, we will go to get some of those herbs from the mountain as soon as possible," said Ukraine, looking determined._

_"And then after you are healed, WE CAN GET MARRIED!" Belarus' calm speech turned into a shriek, and Ukraine hurriedly barricaded her out of the room. The clawing sounds of a deranged, obsessed woman could be heard from inside._

_"Here, eat," said Ukraine, gently coaxing a spoonful of tart into Russia's mouth. He chewed slowly and swallowed._

_"Yum," he whispered hoarsely; the sickness had spread throughout his body. Ukraine's brow furrowed._

_"Russia, we will leave soon to go to the mountains. We will be back in a few days, okay?"_

_"Okay," coughed Russia. "Be safe."_

_"We will—"_

"LIAR!" screamed Russia. _"LIAR!"_

Finland jerked up, half-lifting a hand in reflex as Russia's screams sounded in the castle. A soft feeling of sorrow rose up in his chest for the man. But then he then looked outside at the setting sun and quashed his sympathies for Russia.

Or, at least, he tried to.

* * *

"Sweden!" called Iceland, running forward and greeting the warrior as he stood up from the ground. Sweden surveyed the other three; as expected, Denmark was sulking, Norway was impassively strolling along, and Iceland was his normal, agitated self.

"Let's go," mumbled Sweden, turning and continuing on his path. Iceland practically sprinted and swept ahead of the taller man.

"Hang on," said Norway, raising a hand, "my friends found a magical barrier. It's about two feet in front of you."

"Huh?"

Iceland's head turned back as he smashed into an invisible barrier, his body flattening against the solid structure at awkward angles as he deflated and slowly peeled himself off of the obstruction.

"You couldn't have told us earlier?!" yelped Iceland, massaging a bruised jaw.

"You should be more cautious," reprimanded Norway, striding over and engulfing Iceland in a hug. "Besides, now I get to comfort you and ease your pain as your older brother."

"GET OFF!"

Ignoring the squabbling brothers, Denmark hefted his battleaxe and set flames to its sharpened edge. "Stand back," he warned. Swinging with all his might, he smashed the weapon into the transparent shield—and pulled away, reeling, with his battleaxe bent awkwardly in the middle of its head.

Denmark gaped at the ruined metal. "This was my best battleaxe!" And suddenly, his previous insecurities about facing Russia disappeared as he roared, "RUSSIA! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR RUINING MY AXE!"

Sweden simply shook his head and sighed.

The sun fell lower on the horizon.

* * *

"Finland?" whispered Estonia, sneaking into the other man's room. "Finland? We need to start preparing!"

Estonia lit the candle on the table, turning to the bed. "Finland? Are you asleep?"

There was no response.

"Finland?"

And then Estonia realized that Finland was nowhere in the room.

"Where are you?" Estonia said, eyes going wide in terror.

* * *

"Come," said Russia, enveloping the man next to him in his large cloak. "This will be faster."

"Where are we going?"

"The mountains."

"But—!"

"I must face them there."

The shorter man bit his lip worriedly, but Russia simply twirled his finger and a hazy wind rose around the duo. They vanished into the air, the scuffed snow where they once stood the only sign of them ever having been there.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

Russia slowly faded into existence, a shorter man in tow.

The mountains.

They were bleak. Snow was constantly drifting down, sometimes accompanied by hail. The chain of mountains stretched to the horizon, as far as anyone could tell. They were an impregnable barrier of nature.

The shorter man looked around before following Russia, who had already set off into the distance.

"Where are we going?"

"Just a little longer."

They stopped. Russia knelt down by the snow and set his palm on top of it. He paused. For minutes, there was silence.

Just as the short man was about to say something, a swirling wind dispersed the snow to reveal two bodies encased in blocks of ice.

The short man took a sharp breath. "They're really here."

"Where else?" asked Russia sadly, lifting his palm. A purple haze gathered under and raised the ice blocks. The bodies smoothly rose into the air and were set down on the snow some distance away. "Come."

"Who is it going to be?" asked the shorter man.

"..."

They stood in front of the two bodies. One was of an older woman with light hair. The other was younger, with longer hair and a pretty bow. They were both smiling serenely, their hands clasped over their chests. It seemed that Russia had gently coaxed their cold muscles into peaceful positions.

"Who?" asked the shorter man again.

"That... is for you to decide."

* * *

"EVERYONE! GRAB YOUR THINGS AND LET'S GO!" screamed Estonia, shoving various items into a bag and throwing it around his shoulders. To his relief, the other two servants had followed his orders unquestioningly and were soon running with him to the front door.

Only then did Lithuania place a hand on Estonia's shoulder to stop him. "What's going on?"

Estonia was panting. "Finland's gone!"

"What?" yelped Lithuania.

"I couldn't find him anywhere—Russia's gone too!"

"Does that mean that Russia took him away to revive his sister?" asked Latvia, biting his lip. He was trembling.

"It looks like it," said Lithuania grimly. "They aren't in the castle?"

"No!" said Estonia. "Come on, we have to go already!"

"Where exactly do you plan on going?" asked Lithuania, attempting to calm the other man down. "We don't know where they are."

Estonia opened his mouth, but no locations came out. "I... don't know."

"We need to think about this logically. Okay?" said Lithuania. "Come on, we need to think. Where could they have gone? Where has Russia been keeping his sisters?"

"Maybe he had a secret room and he's still in the castle," suggested Latvia, turning around and glancing at the walls.

"It's not like we can find the room if it exists," said Estonia. "Russia would have it protected."

"Then I'll ask the castle," said Lithuania. Receiving blank stares from the other servants, he added, "Animation magic, remember?"

"Oh. Well, hurry," urged Estonia; Lithuania walked over to the closest wall and began channeling his power.

"And... what about the mountains?" whispered Latvia. "Wasn't that where his sisters were buried in an avalanche?"

"I don't think he'd want to revisit the mountains," sighed Estonia. "But I can't think of anywhere else."

Suddenly, the castle lurched and hollered, "YAY!" Estonia and Latvia nearly fainted as the castle quieted again and then returned to its normal state; Lithuania walked back to them.

"It said that Russia and Finland aren't inside."

"Then it looks like we'll have to leave," said Latvia. "But where do we go?"

"We could only come up with the mountains," said Estonia. "What do you think?"

"I don't know... why would he want to go back to the place where his sisters died?" said Lithuania.

"Maybe... he needs to see them there. Maybe he just feels like he has to be there for them," said Estonia. "Some mental thoughts, I guess."

"It's our best bet, then," said Lithuania. He pushed open the castle doors, revealing the freezing landscape. "Let's go."

And so, the three servants strode towards the distant mountains—only to walk into an immovable barrier.

"Uh-oh," said Latvia nervously.

* * *

"Let me try to get through," said Iceland. "I might be able to now that I'm closer."

He walked to the barrier and leaned his forehead against it. Forming a thought, he shot it at the barrier in a sharp blast. The thought met immediate resistance, but Iceland pushed harder. The solid plane of air warped slightly, and Iceland continued. Suddenly, his thought flew through the barrier and struck a person.

"I'm in!" he called. Norway immediately came to stand beside him; Denmark followed him closely. Sweden stood in the background, a growing urgency developing in his chest.

* * *

Estonia felt something pierce his mind; in its unaware state, the protective barriers surrounding his mind had been weakened, and a torrential force of thoughts burst into his head.

_Finland!_

It was an unfamiliar voice. Estonia had almost harnessed his power to deflect the foreign entity from his head until he heard the thought.

Estonia reached out tentatively. _Who are you?_

_Um... Who are you?_

_My name... is Estonia._

_Do you know where Finland is?_

_No. And who are you?_

_I am Iceland._

Estonia's head snapped up to stare at the barrier. Iceland was one of the four people who took in Finland. _Really?_

_Yes.  
_

_Why did you come here?_

_To save Finland. What are you doing here?_

_We are servants to Russia._

Immediately, Iceland retracted slightly. _Are you trustworthy?_

_We want to find Finland as much as you do. But we don't know where he is._

_Where could he be?_

_We're guessing... the mountains._

_Okay. Thank you. And how do you get this barrier down?_

_It doesn't matter. We'll figure out a way. You just go find Finland and Russia._

_Russia?_

_Russia wants Finland to resurrect one of his dead sisters._

Shock pulsed from the other man's thoughts in waves. _WHAT?_

_Exactly. Now hurry!_

Thinking one last thanks, Iceland pulled away from the mental link. "Looks like we're going to the mountains."

"What?"

"I talked with someone in there. He said that Finland's probably in the mountains. I'll broadcast a thought over them to try and find him."

"Alright, let's go," said Norway. "I guess we'll be getting a ride with my friends."

"Why?" asked Denmark. Norway shot him the "it's obvious" look.

"Those mountains look a bit far, don't you think?" Norway said, raising an eyebrow. "So, everyone, let's go."

"Wait," said Sweden. He had pulled out Finland's amulet. "Let me try to break the barrier."

"You don't even have magic," scoffed Denmark. "What are you going to do?"

The moon had shone through the clouds again. Moonbeams cascaded down like silk from the night sky. Sweden took off the necklace and held it in the air, directly in the path of a beam of light. The amulet began to glow.

The amulet was glowing pure white, unlike before when it had shone yellow after absorbing sunlight. After a few minutes, Sweden swiftly pressed the shining amethyst into the barrier; the shield was enveloped in pure white light and it shattered.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" asked Denmark incredulously. Blinking, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia were suddenly visible, as was the large castle behind them.

"How did you do that?" asked Estonia, before nearly screaming at Sweden's murderous glare.

"There's no time to waste," said Iceland. "Let's go. Norway, hurry up."

"They're here already," said Norway. Two trolls had lumbered out of the trees. "You three, get on that troll. We'll ride on this one."

"You must be Norway. And Denmark and Sweden, yes?" asked Estonia, avoiding eye contact with Sweden. "Very nice to meet you, Finland told me all about you—"

"Introductions can come later," said Iceland. He had already begun broadcasting thoughts towards the mountain range. "Let's go."

After they had all clambered onto a troll, Norway raised a hand and flicked it forward; the trolls, despite their heavy mass, ran at blinding speed towards the distant mountains.

Sweden tucked the amulet back under his cloak. He raised his head and stared forward, calmly facing the moon as they hurtled towards the mountains and, hopefully, Finland.

* * *

"What?" the short man exclaimed. His voice echoed eerily in the frigid air. The twinkling moon was still pure white.

"You will decide who to revive," repeated Russia. "Belarus or Ukraine. It is your choice, Finland."

The blond magic-user glanced at the bodies, terrified. "But—why?"

"I can't make the decision," sighed Russia. "This way, you can choose. I know myself well enough to know that I will lose control over not having both of them back. But you'll already be dead, so I cannot kill you then. So please, Finland, the choice is yours."

Finland turned and knelt by the bodies. He set his belongings—he had brought all of them with him—on the ground. The twinkling ice surrounding Russia's sisters reflected the moon; Finland noticed the circle in the sky and kept a careful gaze on it.

"Russia... I can't choose either—"

"YOU HAVE TO!" screamed Russia. He was deranged; a manic look had infested his eyes. "YOU MUST! I CANNOT!"

"But Russia!" pleaded Finland. The prospect of having to choose to save one person over another repulsed him. "I can't either—"

"It doesn't matter," hissed Russia. "Do it, or else! Blindly pick one if you must! Just _do it_!"

"Russia... this is your conflict. Not mine. I can't decide this for you." Finland stood up, picking up his bag and his sword and backing away.

Russia eyed him contemptuously for a moment. "You are weak. Just like them. Everyone is weak. Useless. Pitiful. Worthless. Traitors!"

And then, a thought rang in both of their minds.

_Finland!_

The magic-user in question gasped as he heard Iceland's voice. Russia froze; his expression was almost comical.

"Who would that be, Finland?" he whispered, the words stinging more than the icy winds.

Finland threw his arms up; the snow followed and formed a solid wall behind Russia. Words traced themselves out of the snow, and Finland punched the wall with his energy. Russia simply stood and watched him.

"You don't need to know who that was," said Finland, securing the warding spell. "He won't bother us again."

"Then you have even more time to decide who to heal," said Russia, smiling. His childish front was back. "Hurry now. We wouldn't want any interruptions."

Finland allowed his eyes to flick up towards the sky; a red tint was slowly sliding across the moon's surface.

"I want to help you, Russia," said Finland. "But choosing for you won't help you. It will only hurt more. You have to do this yourself."

"Nothing could possibly hurt more," snapped Russia. "You don't know anything about this world."

"I know enough," said Finland softly. "Russia... you are hurting. No magic can heal a wound such as the one you have. The only way to heal it is to accept and move on."

"Are you defying me?"

Finland ignored the question. "Russia. You must accept that Ukraine and Belarus are gone. There is no other way."

"Yes there is. _You_ can revive them."

"Only one. Do you really want to live like that? Having one sister around again? While I die and your other sister is still frozen in ice? Is that really what you want?"

There was silence.

"If you will not help me... you are of no use to me. And so, you shall die."

Russia spread his arms above his head; a pulse of darkness gathered in his hands.

"Goodbye, Finland."

And the wall of warded snow behind Russia imploded, showering bits of snow and water down upon Finland and Russia as two trolls carrying seven humans charged through the wall.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Healed by the Cold**

Author's Note: Please excuse the long wait for this chapter! And THANK YOU **SerenePanic**! I can't believe I accidentally uploaded chapter one again...

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Fourteen

* * *

Russia jumped to the side as the lumbering trolls tumbled through the wall of snow. Finland blinked at the sight.

"Finland!"

The cry was almost simultaneous from the others. They all slid off the trolls, and Norway dispersed his summons with a snap of his fingers. The group then caught sight of Belarus and Ukraine.

"Is that them?" asked Iceland, his hushed voice barely making a sound.

"Yes," said Russia, slowly standing up tall. "Now, leave before I kill you."

"With what power?" asked Estonia, crossing his arms. He pointed up towards the sky. "You're out of luck, Russia."

The dark-magic user's eyes flicked towards the sky in shock. The moon was almost completely red.

"I still have time!" he howled, lifting his arms in the air. "DIE!"

Black lightning sparked from his hands; the bolts of energy gathered in a tumultuous blast that was sure to annihilate everyone. Russia released the spell, throwing his hands at the group.

A white barrier burst into existence around Sweden, quickly expanding and challenging Russia's spell. The shield of moonlight and the dark lightning battled each other, bursts of excess power exploding away from the contact point. And then the moonlight shattered the lightning and flew towards Russia, knocking him off his feet.

The snow suddenly turned crimson. Finland whipped his head up and, sure enough, the moon was completely red.

"He's powerless!" shouted Estonia. "Let's go!"

Latvia closed his eyes and brought his hands together in front of his body. He took a deep breath and then focused his emotions — primarily anger and fear at the moment. An invisible, trembling bubble of power burst from his fingertips and engulfed Russia, who struggled to summon his powers. The bubble burst, exploding pure emotional power and sending Russia flying into the snow-covered mountains.

Estonia placed his fingers on his temples; his eyes began to glow. Russia cried out in pain as a sharp lance pierced through his mind.

Russia panted as the pain subsided. Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden all stood impassively to the side, waiting. Finland's head switched back and forth between Russia and the others, unable to decide what to do.

"The lunar eclipse may stall my dark magic," said Russia, getting to his feet unsteadily, "but Finland here knows that I'm not powerless."

"What?" said Finland. The words racked his memories, pulling endless scenes back into his mind again until he drew back and said, "No!"

Russia slammed down on the snow; a wave of ice rose behind him and crashed down onto the mountain, tumbling towards the others who stood in horror and braced themselves for the impact.

"NO!"

Finland ran in front of the others and thrust his arms forward, palms out. The ice suddenly slowed down; Finland ground his teeth as he pushed the ice back up the mountain and threw it towards Russia with a yell. Russia moved in a sweeping motion — the ice morphed into water and streamed around Russia, circling his body until Russia directed it towards Finland, whose hands balled into fists. With a grunt of exertion, Finland punched the jet of water, forcing it to disperse in all directions.

"Since when did he have ice and water magic?" asked Estonia incredulously. "Finland?"

Finland and Russia had paused momentarily in their fight. "He's always had elemental magic. He... taught me everything I know about it."

The others yelped in surprise. Russia used the distracting moment to his advantage and pushed the snow underneath Finland up quickly, throwing the smaller man up into the air. Finland twisted and span to the side, avoiding the spike of ice that Russia drew up from the snow. Still spinning, Finland increased the speed of his rotations and soon became a blurred tornado of limbs; snow was pulled into the vortex from the ground and was hurled towards Russia.

Russia swirled the snow from the ground into a shield, blocking Finland's attack. The shield melted and Russia pushed it at Finland, sweeping the water in a deadly, sharp arc. Finland clenched his fists and dispersed the liquid scythe.

"Are we evenly matched?" asked Russia. "Interesting."

"We're still here, you know," said Norway. "I think it's time we get into the fight."

"Alright!" yelled Denmark, punching the air with his fist. "This is for ruining my battleaxe!"

Denmark punched again, but this time, a fireball spurted from his fist. Sweden drew his sword and walked to stand behind Finland, who glanced around and smiled at the tall warrior.

Iceland shifted and moved back, angrily realizing that he possessed no offensive abilities. A hand fell on his shoulder. Iceland jumped and turned to see that it was his brother offering him a consoling gesture. Norway moved on, removing the barrette in the shape of a cross from his hair for what seemed to be the first time in years. He tossed it into the air, and it hovered in place. The four arms of the cross lit up in different colors while the center where they intersected glowed a pure white. The top arm shined a brilliant ice blue; the bottom arm burned with the color of red-orange fire. The right arm pulsed with the essence of a deep, moss green, and the left arm shone with the twinkle of a light gray.

Four faeries emerged from the barrette, one from each arm. Each was dressed in the color of the arm they appeared from.

"The elemental quartet," breathed Iceland. "I didn't know that you called them from your hair clip!"

"There are many things you do not know, little brother," smirked Norway. "Subein, Cosah, Hureo, Fuchei, you know what to do." The faeries smiled and flitted about, darting from person to person.

Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia gathered together as well, amassing their respective powers as they faced their master.

Russia glared coldly at the group, each harnessing their separate powers. "I'm not defeated yet."

His body plunged completely into the snow, vanishing.

"The moon is almost about to leave alignment!" shouted Estonia. Sure enough, the moon had lost its red glow and was slowly reverting back to normal. "We have to act fast before Russia regains his powers!"

Russia had reappeared at the top of the mountain. He smirked down at the assembled group below him before pressing his hands together. In one massive exertion of energy, he crushed the tip of the mountain and sent a wave of rolling power through the snow, causing the snow on the mountain to rise up in a huge wave. The avalanche of snow plunged, tumbling and roaring down the mountain.

With no warning, the group turned and saw a wave of ice overcome their eyes.

And then they were smothered.

* * *

Russia took a deep breath as he skidded down the mountain. He halted over a point and lifted his hands; the bodies of his two sisters burst out of the snow.

"You're still safe," he crooned, setting a hand on each block of ice. "Russia is still here. We'll find a way."

His large, child-like eyes narrowed as he sensed something underneath the snow. He stood up calmly and then leaped away as a sword was pushed upwards.

"So you aren't dead," said Russia. "Hmm. I thought that would work. But now, my powers should be back..."

Cracks burst away from the sword across the snow, before a large chunk of the snow exploded and burst into the air, sending the the entire group of Russia's enemies flying into the air to land above ground.

"Finland made a bubble around us," said Norway, his faeries fluttering around him nervously. "Quite intricate."

"Then let us continue," smiled Russia. He raised a palm in the air, expanding pulses of darkness from it. Spells hurtled from all the magic-users to combat his dark energy.

The combined forces of all the magic-users forced Russia's spell backwards, and the dark magic-user grimaced as he was pushed deeper into the snow by the force of the spells.

At last, the magics melded together and expanded, sending power coursing through everything in the nearest vicinity — including the mountain.

A deep rumbling filled the mountain; everyone halted their attacks and glanced around worriedly. A crash and the tinkling of ice caught Finland's attention.

"Avalanche!" Finland yelled, pointing up towards the top of the mountain.

The tumbling snow roared down the mountain as it had just been forced to due by Russia's magic, but this was fiercer, wilder, uncontrollable. The combined powers of all the magic-users present had triggered this avalanche, a power far greater than any magic that Russia could generate alone. Nature itself played a role too; natural events inherently possessed a power far beyond any magic-users skill, and this avalanche was both natural and magical, a deadly mixture of the two great powers.

Even faster than Russia's spell, the avalanche coursed over everyone on the mountain, crushing them down with a power far too strong to defend against.

Finland's last fleeting sensation was the feeling of warm arms wrapping around his body.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter Fifteen

* * *

The flickering moonlight glinted off of the thick layer of snow. All was silent as the icy crystals blanketed the mountain. There was no sound, no movement, no nothing.

And then the beams of the moon shifted and concentrated on several spots. Intensifying, the glow pierced through the thick layer of snow and pulled several bodies through the snow to rest above the surface. An ethereal glow was surrounding each person, and it slowly faded away.

Finland blearily opened his eyes to see the night sky. He blinked and tried to rub his eyes, but found that his arms were pinned to his sides. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of Sweden, who was hugging him from behind and was currently underneath Finland.

"Sweden?" he whispered, shifting slightly in an attempt to wake up the taller man. "Are you okay?"

The warrior gave no response. Other members of their group were beginning to move as well; Norway was the first to stand up, his four faeries circling his head before flying back into Norway's barrette, which floated back into place in Norway's hair.

"Sweden, let him go," Norway said, rolling his eyes as Sweden's eyes snapped open irritably.

"Thanks," said Finland as Sweden relinquished his grip. Sweden nodded curtly and proceeded to glare at Norway, who responded by lifting a shield of impenetrable indifference.

"Where's... Where's Russia?" asked Estonia, who was extremely confused. "How did we survive that, by the way?"

Sweden pulled out the necklace, which was still flickering weakly. "This, I guess. Probably used moon power to protect us."

He handed it back to Finland, who took it, amazed. "You still have it! You fixed it!"

Finland briefly hugged Sweden before turning away, holding the amulet in his hand. Norway appeared by Sweden's side and simply smirked; Sweden fought a blush down.

"And yes, the moon holds dominance over snow and water in nature. It's natural that it would have been able to protect us. Now, about Russia..." Finland gently pressed the amulet. Its last, flickering energies lanced out in three beams, penetrating the snow and pulling Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia's bodies from the snow.

Sliding the necklace back under his shirt, Finland quickly ran over to the trio. "Russia!"

"Looks like he wasn't protected by the amulet," said Denmark, running a hand through his spiked hair. "Why not?"

"The amulet recognizes benevolence," said Estonia. "Since we were fighting Russia, the necklace didn't protect him, I suppose."

They all turned to watch Finland and Russia. The shorter blond had pulled a stream of water to rest on Russia's chest, and he was quickly attempting to heal the man.

"Russia, are you alright?" cried Finland, pouring more energy into his efforts. The water was glowing far beyond normal, and as Finland pushed his hands deeper into the magic, the bubble of liquid exploded. Finland's arms were thrown away, and he stumbled to land on his back.

Finland got back up, kneeling next to Russia. His eyes were filled with worry. "Is he... dead?"

And then Russia stirred. Finland gasped.

"Why?" Russia's hoarse voice uttered. "Why would you save me?"

"I knew you were almost gone... and I don't want you to just die."

A trickle of blood slipped out of Russia's mouth, running down his cheek to drip onto the snow. The crimson liquid slowly sank into the ice and spread.

"But I tried to kill you..."

"I don't care. Like I said, I don't want anyone to die."

Russia laughed weakly and then coughed. "How intriguing..."

He turned his head towards his left and then his right. "Belarus... Ukraine..."

"Come back with us, Russia," said Finland. "Leave them here to rest peacefully."

"I... don't think I can."

Everyone in the back shifted at his words. "Does he still want Finland to revive one of his sisters?" whispered Estonia, preparing a spell.

"Russia, you can't still want me to revive—"

"I can't go back."

Finland blinked. "Of course you can! We can heal you! It's not that bad, is it?"

"You... attached me to a lifeline for a while. But nature's damage has taken its toll."

"But—"

Russia spread his hands out towards his sisters. Finland quickly melted and dispersed the ice surrounding their bodies. Russia smiled and slid his hands into theirs. With Belarus on his left and Ukraine on his right, he laid in the snow staring up at the moon.

"Ukraine... Belarus... They're right there," whispered Russia. Longing filled his voice and his eyes as he stared directly forward. "Right there..."

He let his eyelids fall down to cover his eyes and his entire body relaxed. One last breath smoothly flowed out of his mouth and then he was still.

Finland stood up and took a deep breath. Hesitating, he said, "It's time to go."

"Of course," said Norway. "Everyone, down the mountain."

"I'll catch up to you later," said Finland. "Go ahead."

The soft trampling of snow filled the air, but faded away as the others left the mountainside. Finland's eyes had not yet left Russia.

"I'm glad you've accepted the past," Finland said softly. "Moving on is the first step to a new life. But now, the greatest mystery awaits you. Good-bye, Russia."

Finland raised his arm and then slowly lowered it. The snow underneath the three bodies shifted and allowed the bodies to sink. Finland watched his magic do its work and closed his eyes as Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were engulfed under the snow. And then in one sweeping motion, he morphed the snow into ice, creating a pure, frozen tomb for the three siblings. A tombstone made of ice rose from the ground, and Finland used his finger etch a few words into the ice.

Finland turned away, and to his surprise, Sweden was standing behind him silently.

"How did I not sense you?" said Finland, giving a sad laugh. "I guess I was preoccupied."

"Let them be," said Sweden. His fierce eyes softened slightly as he enveloped Finland in a warm hug. "It's time to go."

The warrior had repeated Finland's words from earlier. Finland rested his cheek on Sweden's chest. "I agree."

The two pulled apart and Finland raised a platform of ice to slide upon. Sweden mounted the ice, sitting behind Finland. Finland raised his hands and then pushed them forward, snapping the block of ice into motion.

Without so much as a backwards glance, the two hurtled down the mountain. Finland decided that he should listen to his own advice as the wind whipped their hair. He should move on. He contemplated the words he had written on the tombstone.

_Belarus. Russia. Ukraine.  
Three siblings that now rest together in peace._

Yes, Finland decided. The words suited the trio well.


	16. Epilogue

**Healed by the Cold**

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Epilogue

* * *

"Have a safe trip," called Finland, waving to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia as they walked into the distance. "Send us a message once you get there!"

The three former servants were planning on going back to their homelands, where they had lived before they had been taken in by Russia. They waved back, chanting simultaneously, "Good-bye! We will!"

Finland was standing in front of Denmark's mansion. It was snowing, as usual, white fluff gently sprinkling down from the sky. With nothing else to do, he wandered back inside, headed for the kitchen, from which warm air was clearly emanating.

As he expected, everyone else was sitting by the fire. At his arrival, their heads turned; Finland took a seat next to Sweden.

"So, what now?" asked Iceland. His eyes were distant. "I mean... Finland, you don't have to stay here. You can go wherever you want. You might even have a home somewhere else."

Finland could feel Sweden tense beside him. "I don't think I'm going anywhere," Finland said with a smile. "This _is_ home."

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

And then Denmark ruined the silence.

"SWEET!" he crowed, punching the air. "We have a new addition to the household, permanently! Welcome to the family, Fin!"

"I'm glad you're staying," said Iceland. Norway nodded.

"M'happy," murmured Sweden, averting his gaze to the fire.

Finland smiled. "So... I guess that's that, huh?"

"Indeed," said Norway.

Their day continued, perhaps a bit more somberly than normal. Finland wandered aimlessly around the house and eventually wound up in Sweden's room. The warrior wasn't there, but Finland slipped in, feeling slightly nervous.

A white cloak, with a light blue, off-centered cross imprinted on one side, was lying on Sweden's bed. Finland curiously fingered the fabric and blinked when a hand suddenly fell on his shoulder.

"Hello, Sweden," said Finland, not even turning around as he let go of the cloak. The taller man hugged him from behind. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

Sweden let go as though he had been burned; Finland grinned and turned around to see a light pink dusting Sweden's cheeks.

"Any reason why?"

The pink turned to red at Finland's question; just when the magic-user decided he had tormented Sweden enough, the warrior muttered a word.

"...like..."

Finland quirked his eyebrow. "Did you say something, Sweden?"

"...no." _I'd like to say something nice... but it's too embarrassing._

Just then, Iceland passed by outside the door. "You know, Sve," he said, "even if I couldn't hear your thoughts, it's still pretty obvious."

That earned him a door to the face.

Norway fell down through the ceiling; Sweden glared at him in disbelief.

"It's not like you don't want him to be your wife," he said with about as much emotion as a rock. He swooped back up through the ceiling, pulling the wood he had dislodged with him and fitting it back into place.

"Your what?" spluttered Finland.

Denmark was next; he emerged from the fire in Sweden's fireplace, laughing. "You heard him, Finny! Sweden's got himself a wife, just like he wanted!" And, laughing raucously, he vanished back into the flames.

Finland turned to Sweden, glaring at him venomously with an expression that was normally on the warrior's face. "Did you tell them that?"

"No!" Sweden said hoarsely, looking as mortified as his paralyzed facial expression could manage. "I didn't!"

"REALLY NOW?" Finland seemed to double in height, and, even as short as he was, doubling in height put him much taller even than Sweden. _"REALLY NOW?"_

And with Sweden looking as though he wanted to die, Finland chased him around the mansion, with Iceland and Denmark laughing their heads off the entire time.

Norway simply sat on Denmark's head and sipped tea, shaking his head with only a single thought in his mind.

_Idiots._

* * *

_The End_

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, or followed this story to the end! I'm glad to see the reviews, and I'm glad that you put up with my idiocy (posting chapter one again... what was I _thinking? _Oh yeah, I wasn't... just like when I put a full moon days before a lunar eclipse... I think I'll go grow mushrooms in the closet now.).

Alright, but now, I'm diverging my attention to my other stories! Please check those out if you're interested, but otherwise...

This is FloatingLeaf, drifting into the distant realm of life!


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